Y&R's Chuck Pratt Jr. Interview: Head Scribe On His Plots From Doppelganger Jack, Sharon & The Cabin Murders, Flirt With Disaster and More!

Since winter time, fans of The Young and the Restless have seen a definitive change on air with storylines created by the series latest head writer and executive producer, Chuck Pratt Jr.

The head scribe is certainly known for his own style of writing daytime and primetime television continuing dramas that either you are a fan of, or you may be not, but one thing is for sure, Pratt’s writing sure gets people talking. Since taking the reins in Genoa City, Chuck’s stories have had viewers witnessing … a plane crash, and several other cataclysmic disasters where characters have had to fight for survival and relationships were changed, a doppelganger plot focusing on three-time Daytime Emmy winner Peter Bergman (Jack Abbott), a murder storyline involving the younger generation of the town, and the long running soap is on the verge of making some apparently new couplings to shake up the canvas, and more.

On-Air On-Soaps chatted with Chuck Pratt Jr. to get his insights on a myriad of his story points and decisions for the beloved characters of Genoa City. While there are always good stories and bad stories that are served up to the fans of daytime drama, it is the job of the head writers and their writing teams that seem to be the most daunting in daytime … serving up 250 or so scripts a year and trying to interweave the characters and stay true to the history of the show, while also injecting new energy and life into it.

Here’s what Pratt Jr. had to say about where he is headed with his storylines involving Victor (Eric Braeden), Jack, Sharon (Sharon Case), Kelly (Cady McClain), Michael (Christian LeBlanc), Dylan (Steve Burton), and Adam (Justin Hartley), and what he hopes to ultimately bring to the brand that is Y&R.

Since you came to Y&R and your scripts have started airing you can see your stamp on this show. The pace has picked up, and there is more of a sense of shock and awe to the show. This is clearly different from what people may have been expecting, or those perhaps wanting to see a return to their old classic Y&R.

Courtesy/CBS

CHUCK: From my perspective, I can’t sit and try to please a network, a studio, and nine writers that have been here for decades, and try to please all these other people. You have to come in to a show and look at all the characters and the actors, and go, “I am here for one reason, and one reason only … to service the audience.” I want them to like it, and I want to like it. I can’t write it if I don’t enjoy it. There might be some discrepancies I might come up with, and a story that people don’t want to play in reference to the actors. And to the audience, “I am doing this for you and if you don’t like something, I’m sorry, but this guy in the audience did like it.” You just don’t know. That’s about numbers and ratings, and that is what I look for just to get the undercurrent … then I look at the monitor to see if I like it. When I first got to Y&R people were drinking coffee and having conversations, and sometimes very interesting conversations. Now they come in and they’re red-faced and their blood pressure is up. It’s life and death stakes, whether it be this show, All My Children, or General Hospital it’s like what I do. I am not mob like Bob Guza (former head writer, GH), and I would argue about that while I was writing at GH. The first thing that they said to me at Y&R was “no guns,” and “don’t kill anybody!” I said, “OK, no guns is fine.” But, I think I had Steve Burton (Dylan) holding a gun within two weeks, and I said, “He’s just not a coffee shop kind of a guy. He needs to hold a gun!” (Laughs) Then he has a gun, and I said, “Now, is he going to kill Joe (Scott Elrod)?” Because now the story interests me!

Is there a concern when you come into a show like this and inherit the legacy and the characters, and knowing it has had several different writing regimes over the last several year of, “Can I make this work?”

Courtesy/CBS

CHUCK: There is that moment where you go …’This is an awesome responsibility, and this is a huge responsibility, and this is a good responsibility, and it’s really up to me where I go from there.’ The skills they teach at West Point are what I believe are keys, which are: leadership and belief in your decisions, and believe in what you are doing, and the ability to back it up and defend it. When someone comes at you and goes, “I don’t like that,” I go, “What don’t you like about it … and what would you rather see?” What I try to do is to avoid that, and hope that cast members are reading the scripts and going “This is great. I would watch this show.” You also hope that the actors can’t wait for the next script. So those are indicators to me that I am moving in the right direction. I also know at some points I will be moving in the wrong direction.

You decided to give Peter Bergman (Jack) a dual role. Something you have been known to do on your past soaps.

CHUCK: Peter is doing an amazing job, because he is doing it subtly and he is resisting the obvious things, and he is working with me on this. I have done a lot of “Dopplechuck” and a lot of these types of stories where there are things you can fall into. When the two come together, which ultimately in these stories you put that off as long as you can, then we get to see in this case, Peter Bergman play against himself in scenes, which will be fun to watch.

What was your inspiration to decide to do ‘Fake Jack’ and have Victor (Eric Braeden) behind it and driving this outrageous plot against his arch-nemesis?

Courtesy/CBS

CHUCK: I brought it in when I started here. When I was watching the show all I said was, “You know what? Eric Braeden (Victor) and Peter Bergman are this show!” They were important in the show that I was watching, but they are the show!” They are not the tent poles, they are not controlling it, and I thought Peter Bergman is such a great actor, and the Victor/Jack relationship is such a great rivalry. How do I mix that all together and give Victor what he wants? In my mind, Victor wants everything that Jack has all the time, even if he never says it. Eric and Peter are so good in completely different ways. So, I thought I have to create the dark side of Jack, and so this character becomes Victor’s best friend. There is tons of melodrama and story around it, and lots of back-story. Who is this guy … and where is he from? People have to find out, or not find out, and this story will go for a good period of time.

Now we know Kelly did not commit suicide, but is on the doppelganger plot with Victor. Did you make the decision to make Cady McClain’s character of Kelly a wackadoodle?

CHUCK: No. They were just starting that when I got here. I said, “Keep doing that!” (Laughs) I saw Kelly in bed with Jack before Phyllis (Gina Tognoni) came back, and I thought, “I don’t really want to watch this!” I know Cady is such a great actress, and she always is such a myth to me in this kind of secondary role, because Phyllis was coming back. The writers started calling me, going, “We have this crazy idea about which women is crazier!” I said, “I love that story. But don’t show your hand of who is crazier.”

What did you think about how your “Flirt with Disaster” storylines played out during February Sweeps? So much disaster in one week, but not causalities!

Courtesy/CBS

CHUCK: I was happy because of the energy it created for all of us. This is an assembly line kind of job, and when suddenly the assembly is building Porsches instead of Volkswagens everybody gets excited from it. The production design people who are on tight budgets were allowed to go crazy and nuts. The stories sort of rejuvenated everybody here, plus I wanted to rearrange a few pieces on the chess table. It all started when plotting when Neil (Kristoff St. John) would get his eyesight back. I thought it has got to be big. We could have done six months of him pretending he could see. By the way, that story between Devon (Bryton James) Hilary (Mishael Morgan) and Neil is not going away. It didn’t end there. Neil can go off on this direction and that direction. Neil can drink, not cut his hair, and a lot of stuff, but that desire for revenge is not going to go away.

All of a sudden, viewers were thrust into and witnessed the Austin (Matthew Atkinson) murder storyline, and a reveal of his back-story that never existed before, and these Scooby-Doo gang-esque cabin murders. What was the impetus to create this?

Courtesy/CBS

CHUCK: That was a writer looking at the character of Austin, who is this good-looking guy who is married to Summer (Hunter King), and who was told of some of the wacky good stuff about his back-story. So, I thought that was over-the-top, and then the writers ended that, and now Austin and Summer were in this boring marriage and it’s a story about money, and he is a documentary filmmaker, and he is on once a week. Hunter is amazing, and she is on one and a half times a week, as well as Melissa Ordway (Abby). There is personality on this show with these kids, and I thought they weren’t being used. That’s what happens on the soaps, especially when you have a dynamic upper tier veteran cast and a big middle tier like with Justin Hartley (Adam) and Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea). So it was about taking these kids and giving them their own story, and killing somebody. I then go, “OK. Which one do I sacrifice?” And that is a very difficult decision to make, because these actors are all people and human beings with jobs. So, when I started going over the story I thought Austin was perfect for this, because I will give him the back-story I would have been telling before I got here. I would have been telling the story of Austin having an affair with Abby. Then have Fen (Max Ehrich) being a part of it and finding out, and then we will bring in Lachlan Buchanan as Kyle, this really good looking young guy who has this thing for Summer. Then it’s about who killed Austin? We have gotten to play pretty much all the cool stuff you get to see in a murder storyline. We are going to have a big shock when we reveal who the murderer is.

The big question that every recent Y&R head writer has faced; what are your plans for the long-suffering Sharon (Sharon Case), whose character has often been ruined by plots from other regimes?

Courtesy/CBS

CHUCK: When you read Sharon’s story it’s like The Perils of Pauline! She is a beaten, doormat on this show. Now I came into the show when Sharon’s wedding to Nick went up in shambles. So I got a lot of the Mariah (Camryn Grimes) stuff and the changing of the DNA records, and whose kid is whose kid. I go, “Well, Sharon is much more interesting when she is crazy!” So we have to make her crazy, but not too crazy, where the audience thinks we are reinventing her, and the audience then doesn’t buy it. What I sensed from the audience is that they love her with Nick (Joshua Morrow), and they like her. But then I had this idea with Dylan (Steve Burton), which we are starting to play now. I looked at Steve Burton and I thought his character is not underused; it’s just not being used properly. I knew him as Jason Morgan on General Hospital, and I don’t want him to be Jason again. However, Steve Burton plays Steve Burton, and what that is about is he brings sincerity, honesty, and he fights for the underdog. And so I thought, “If ever there was an underdog … it’s Sharon!” We have one of the most beloved characters on the show, and the other characters treat her like dirt! I thought we have got to give Sharon a chance to get resurrected, and then make a lot of mistakes, because she can be very interesting when she has a bipolar episode. I have said she is one of those characters who plants the landmine, and then forgets where she put the map, and then steps on it.

You inherited the prostate cancer storyline of Michael Baldwin (Christian LeBlanc). Are you going to continue to go down this story path?

Courtesy/CBS

CHUCK: Honestly, it would not have been a story I would have told. However, I inherited it, and I think Christian LeBlanc is an amazing actor. He is another actor with so much ability to make any writer happy. But this story is very isolating to the people involved, and it’s quite frankly about a man’s private parts, and I am thinking I am uncomfortable hearing about this. I mean, a prostate cancer storyline is so curable, and an ED story has been told over and over again. I am kind of moving it in that direction and challenging Christian, and in the middle of it all giving him a really melodramatic story, which I won’t go into, because it’s just been starting. Christian is wonderful, and everybody is great on the show. It’s like a deck of 52 valuable cards where everybody is king on this show.

What are your thoughts on Justin Hartley in the role of Adam Newman? How much longer will the audience have to wait before more people than Jack find out he is really Adam back-from-the-dead, and not Gabriel Bingham?

Courtesy/CBS

CHUCK: Justin … he is the future. He is great! I was just watching him in scenes with Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea) and Burgess Jenkins (Billy), and he was a minor part of the scene, but he just blew me away. Justin made it work just with a look. I am going to continue the true identity of Gabriel as long as I can. It takes a lot of twists and turns, you will see. It kind of gets all mixed up together with the two Jacks. I like mixing Adam up with Victor, as much as with the women. There is a lot to come!

So, what do you think of Chuck Pratt Jr’s storylines thus far on The Young and the Restless? Are you intrigued by the two Jacks story and how it will play out? What do you hope happens with Sharon? Who do you think murdered Austin and Courtney (Kelli Goss). Do you hope everyone finds out that Gabriel is Adam soon? What do you hope happens with Michael’s cancer storyline? Share your thoughts below!

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Nice to know his insights but could we’d gotten something on Colin and Jill?

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April 22, 2015 3:10 pm

Beacon

Colin and Jill are not important to this show anymore. Why would he write for them?

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April 23, 2015 5:16 am

Harry

They could have been something–they could have been contenders instead of what they are. Bums.
Wait, where have I heard that before? On the Waterfront?

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April 23, 2015 9:46 am

Kim Huck

By the way! We all know Sharon did not and I repeat did not change any DNA test. Everyone knows Sharon only dreamed she did. Jacks daughter is Summer and she slept with now her brother Kyle!

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April 24, 2015 2:34 pm

paulette

Why on earth would Cane quit Chancellor?He wouldn’t!The writer was looking for a hot guy to team up with Lauren!So dumb!

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May 17, 2015 1:01 pm

Timmm

Those two characters are dead. Jill is nothing without Kathrine and Colin needs to head back to Port Charles!

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April 23, 2015 8:59 am

Myssy

I would love for Colin to head to GH but he can’t because he’s contract tied to a show that keep him on the back burner.

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April 23, 2015 9:54 am

Leo

Peter Bergman has been horrible, though. He should have his three Emmy awards revoked.

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April 23, 2015 2:56 pm

Candice

Worst writing ever. Im so pissed how this writer is trying to destroy Sharon! PLEASE for the love of God PLEASE put Sharon and Adam back! SHADAM was amazing 🙂

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April 24, 2015 2:28 pm

Carrie Jay

I LOVE SHARON I LOVE SHARON with MM who played Adam and would LOVE Sharon to be written like history was and Adam loved Sharon so so so much . Why is Sharon ALWAYS being used as the doormate ! So angry at theis Chuck Pratt. Please someone give him the history of Sharons love true loves THANK YOU

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April 24, 2015 2:30 pm

The Substitute

The late Terry Lester will always OWN Jack Abbott he would have walked off of the set before he would play this silly crap

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April 24, 2015 6:21 pm

Evelyn Hodges

No kim sommer is nick but kyle no it when he went away some how he found out that’s why he came back to get sommer from austin

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April 25, 2015 6:29 pm

Teddy

OH NO WAY! Chuck Pratt better stop this horrible Chelsea and Adam garbage and please stop stopppppppp the Jack crap. Let it be known we hate to see Sharon unhappy all the time. Give Sharon back love and happiness. Nick is the DOG and Adam loves his Sharon. Not sure what show Pratt was watching but it wasn’t Young and the Restless. Sharon and Nick Sharon and Adam are the best hottest couple the show ever had. I can’t deal with Victor in every story. I wish he left the show. Sorry that is how I feel 🙁 VERY DISSAPOINTED

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April 24, 2015 2:41 pm

Evelyn Hodges

People please why he stared this jack thing victor is not victor the hole storyline is change victor would not ever let stitch or been whatever his name is sleep with abbie nor he let him treat victoria like that. Shoran is getting what she deserve. Her sickness didn’t make her do all that.nicks no angle ether and what is avery this she’s doing.he same thing she did to nick with dylan she going to go to joe sharon knows about jumping from one brother toanother don’t these poepls now how to meet people on.the outside the famliy rim adam needs to disappear they could let him stay dead out of the soap fargood didn’t need a other one and that billy please. Laren and Michael not a good storyline please don’t let that start up again with.devon and whather face neal need to get over itmacon his brother told him she was young to young and cra cra dix he listen she knew she want devon.

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April 25, 2015 7:02 pm

Louisa Moore

I don’t like the over the top stories. A plane crash, a murder, and a fire all on Valentine’s Day? If he didn’t want to write for soaps, then Pratt should write something else. He’s ruining Y&R and it’s getting more unwatchable daily.
Sharon’s crazy, Kelly’s crazy, Phyllis was crazy, there’s no one to root for. What about young love for the summer? What about who’s the Daddy? I suppose Summer could play that this summer. Are we really supposed to believe that Victor helped Kelly kidnap Jack and that he’ll put them up on some island indefinitely?? I’m done.

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April 26, 2015 1:23 pm

CC

I want my favorite character Sharon happy in love and she deserves an Emmy . 🙂

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April 24, 2015 4:50 pm

Barbara

Please put her back with Nick, & stop him from being such a jerk! She is also my favourite character, CC.

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May 4, 2015 9:52 pm

Trish

I agree…Sharon does deserve an Emmy…I wish the writer’s would let her be happy like she use to be with Nick….please listen writer’s!!

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May 15, 2015 12:32 pm

paulette

No the character Sharon goes off her meds all the time on purpose,no one is twisting her arm.She cares not what it does to her kids,and only cares about hopping in bed with a hottie,She the actual actor deserves an emmy,but the character deserves to lose her kids!They come home to a new guy in bed with her again!

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May 17, 2015 1:12 pm

Kim Huck

SHARON and Adam were one of the best couples that had the audience falling in love with love. They really need to bring SHADAM together again and revist all the Sharon and Adam love they had for each other 🙂

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April 25, 2015 10:17 am

Blythe

The show is losing it’s heart….By that I mean a core of truly good, decent characters. Sharon was always the good and loving soul and it is depressing that she is now just being made to look “batty.” If there are no really positive strpmg characters to root for the fans are just watching a bunch of shallow and miserable personalities in forced situations. Even the most admirable characters such as Paul, Christine and Neil are acting out of character and not their true selves as we’ve come to know them though their history. And real love stories take time to develop. The show now has the oddest pairing of people randomly falling into bed with one another merely because they work in the same place for a day or two. Also, place is important. The Chancellor estate has always been a kind of comforting and beautiful character itself….Now almost the whole show is taking place at The Athletic Club or its roof top bar! The Newman Ranch doesn’t look like the special retreat it used to be as the living room set does not really reflect the beauty of what they show in the exterior shots. To summarize, give us characters who are really people to cheer for and residential settings that are truly beautiful (at least the Abbot Estate has remained the same!) and real love stories and not just sexual encounters such as the character of Abby has every other day!

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May 11, 2015 2:58 pm

josie

Well, “causalities” is not a word….and could this fellow have said “amazing” more often (and less accurately) than he did? Twit. I hope Hartley goes back to “Mistresses.” Writers have no imagination if alll they can do is dual personalities, lookalikes, unplanned pregnancies, infidelity, and business deals. These characters never mow a lawn, wipe down a kitchen counter, go barefoot or in sneaks, wear sweatpants, or take off their brassieres. The best love scenes are the languid, erotic, SLOW ones, not the frantic same-old tear shirt off ones…..

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May 15, 2015 2:38 pm

su0000

ohh geez..
Pratt about the 2 Jacks story–
” this story will go for a good period of time.”

Pratt about Gabe/Adam story–
” I am going to continue the true identity of Gabriel as long as I can.”

OK-
I’m not at all happy with LONG overkill stories- I will lose interest..

Pratt about Sharon–
“If ever there was an underdog … it’s Sharon!”
(just kill her off and put her out of her misery and mine)

I like Pratt.. but!!
He needs to speed up theses stories..
he is going to drag them out as long as possible/his words so to say..

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April 22, 2015 3:12 pm

Harry

Wait, the Fluke debacle lasted close to two years and you called it riveting.
The Jack double story has just begun and you’re already complaining that it’s dragging?
Sue, you have a double standard when it comes to Y&R vs GH.
These stories are not dragging by soap standards at all.
And guess what? Everyone loves Sharon. She isn’t going anywhere. My only bone of contention with the interview posted is Pratt wants to keep her a little bit batty. I do think Sharon and Dylan would make a great couple.

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April 22, 2015 8:34 pm

Timmm

I agree with you Harry. You have to give each show their fair share. GH and Fluke I never got tired of. [Tony Geary factor] Mr. Pratt is not dragging anything out yet. He simply admitted to riding something that is good for as long as he can. Its like skiing down a slope that is just incredible and you never want to reach the bottom! I like Sue BUT anytime she mentions killing off a legacy character I have to question her loyalty to the show. You NEVER kill off a legacy character.

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April 23, 2015 9:03 am

Patrick

“…Pratt wants to keep her a little bit batty ”

I do NOT want this at all for Sharon…. with all due respect to person(s) w/BP

Pratt states: “…she can be very interesting when she has a bipolar episode. ”

I guess this is supposed to be better than all the rest of Genoa City treating her like a doormat

I hope Sharon and Dylan have a nice run…. it’s certainly better than being with NIck

Sharon Case deserves so much better

it’s demeaning to the audience to see Sharon “dependent” … if she’s not with Nick ? what ? she fails at every thing else ?

give us a break…. Sharon beacons

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April 23, 2015 11:31 am

su0000

Harry..
I didnt say it was dragging Pratt said it would.. I do like that..
Jack and Luke/Fluke are different levels..
And-

aha not 2 years,,
Tony had back surgery in Oct returned in June.. 6-7 months gone
It was not 2 Lukes for quite awhile- It was seen as a Cassadine plot, or- high-tech mask, then Fluke was Bill Eckert, but!
the reason for the story’s extended duration was due to the months Geary was off 6 months while he recuperated from back surgery. When he returned, there was a new plan in place. And, oh boy, was it worth the wait. 🙂

The big reveal of why Luke has become homicidal dovetailed with the show’s 52nd anniversary episode. And that rocked and was done better than ever expected.. An unforgettable story/the 52nd!!!

Tony was on and off for periods of time and there were not ” 2 ” Lukes until the scene in the padded cell..
That is when the 2 lukes actually begin / face to face.. the first time we seen 2 Lukes and it was still not 2 Lukes nor DID, just Tony and Luke .. 🙂

And- Sharon is not Y&R.. she just is hard to tolerate, for me.. and yah, I want her killed off .. lol 🙂

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April 23, 2015 1:47 pm

SiteAdvocate61

Harry and everyone

I’d like to add that Sharon needs someone in her life to justify and believe in her and by adding Dylan to the mix either platonically or romantically actually does the trick. I hope Mr. Pratt decides to take Sharon’s bipolar disorder,research it some more and tell her story responsibly to give hope to those who suffer from it. Sharon needs to regain respect from her inlaws and those around her.

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April 23, 2015 2:32 pm

CeeCee

Harry…my hunch is that Dylan and Sharon will end up together. It’s inevitable.
In the fifteen years that I have been ,diligently, watching Y&R, I have had misgivings about Sharon, I will admit that. But, I’ve never not liked her. Now, enough is enough. Give this character a break,
Yet, I suppose she needs the drama buzz forever surrounding her, in order to keep our interest alive.
There is definitely a story to be had/told concerning Sharon, Dylan, Avery and Joe in the forefront, once this murder mystery with all its trimmings, is sewn up.

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April 23, 2015 8:24 pm

Kim Huck

I HATE THIS JACK STORY! I HATE CHELSEA IS SO STUPID SHE SLEEPS WITH HER HUSBAND AND STILL HAS NO CLUE! OMGGG Please no chemistry. Plus what is going on with everything is always about Victor! I can’t stand this character is always obsessed with hating poor Sharon! ENOUGH!

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April 24, 2015 2:32 pm

Chrystie Delancey

He sounds very egocentric in his interview. I don’t think he really wants what the audience wants. He wants what HE wants. Of course there is going to be SOMEONE in the audience that likes something he does while the rest hate it. That’s life. There is always ying and yang. Just look at Rotten Tomatoes at the really bad movies. For the majority that hated it, there are those that loved it. So is this saying he is with the minority instead of the majority? I guess so. 🙁

Saying he is going to continue these storylines as long as he can tells ME he has no idea where to take them yet. That does not bode well. We got that with Maria Arena Bell wherein she carried the story on for so long so by the time you got a resolution, you no longer cared. The only thing she did right in my book was the Paul and Ricky story, but that again carried on too long and if it had not been for the dynamite acting of Doug Davidson, I would have stopped watching.

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April 23, 2015 8:37 am

Harry

Timm, you’re always the voice of reason served up with humor and optimism. Thank you for putting up with me when I act in direct opposition to your aforementioned good traits.
Chrystie, I hear ya.
I just want to try and be cautiously optimistic.

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April 23, 2015 2:56 pm

Leo

I read a print interview he had done about two months ago and he sounded very depressed. He said that he tried to make it as a screen writer for motion pictures and he bombed.

So he had to come back to soaps. I think he is punishing us and in the process ruining the few soaps we have left.

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April 23, 2015 2:58 pm

Harry

Suoo, that is the longest post you’ve ever written. Who would have thunk it? I am your muse! In any case, your Sharon-hatred kind of amuses me and I am sure you have a big ole mischievous grin on your face when you type,”Kill Sharon!” But it does perplex me—why Sharon and not Summer? Or Lily? Or even Victoria? I like Sharon and she has been treated like crappolla by the Newmans since Nick first introduced her to the family. Honestly, to me, she is the female AJ Quartermaine.

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April 24, 2015 9:34 am

Harry

Cee Cee and Site. Like you two, I really think Dylan and Sharon could work.
I also agree that if you’re going to tackle bipolar disease, you have to do it right. Thus far, it has not been handled realistically at all.
I would like Sharon to take her lithium and get control of her life. While I like Dylan with Sharon, I really do not want him to be her rescuer.
I would like Sharon to be her own rescuer!

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April 24, 2015 9:37 am

CC

Chuck Pratt sounds as if he could care less that the audience loves Sharon and wants her happy. I love Shick and Shadam and dont like that they are making Sharon always lose out . Very disappointed in this writer.

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April 24, 2015 4:49 pm

Kim Huck

I HATE Sharon with Dylan. Yuck! I think Sharon belongs with Adam. What ever happened to 6 yrs of all that love Adam and Sharon had? He only married Chelsea out of hate and to get back at Sharon for leaving when Victor framed her for Skyes murder to protect Adam. Nick threatened Sharon to leave Adam or again Faith once again ZZZZZZ gets taken away from Sharon. Someone stop Pratt before he kills this show off!!!!

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April 24, 2015 2:37 pm

Faye

I hated Sharon with Adam. I thought it ridiculous that she’d defile herself by being wth the man who kidnapped her baby, and led her to believe she was dead, giving her away like she was an orphan. Too evil and cruel for words. Sharon lost her soul when she got involved with the vileness that was and will always be Shadam. Wasn’t happy with the thought of Sharon being with another of Nick’s brothers, but I’ve enjoyed their slow build to coupledom, I’m looking forward to Sharon and Dylan as a couple.

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April 25, 2015 9:42 am

gorka

No imagination, how many times is newman going to hire a double for his perfidious plots.Lousy writer. Dumb plots. Be interesting to see story lines implode together with ratings

Great interview. I would love Adam to be the person to expose fake Jack and Victor. Am also loving Dylan and Sharon.

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April 22, 2015 3:12 pm

SiteAdvocate61

Yes,Robert, I am hoping the same thing.

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April 23, 2015 8:44 pm

DawnL

I’m actually enjoying a lot of Y&R these days. I particularly love the burgeoning relationship between Sharon and Dylan. To me, this relationship is so exciting and a pure joy to watch. The wonderful Steve Burton and Sharon Case have such tremendous chemistry with each other. I thank Chuck Pratt for recognizing it and I hope he goes all out with them.

All in all I’m excited to see where Mr. Pratt goes with all the stories. I can certainly say I’m intrigued.

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April 22, 2015 3:22 pm

Angela

Interesting what he says about Sharon given how he has pretty much everyone verbally abusing her and having her own son turn on her now

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April 22, 2015 3:24 pm

Robert

I was thinking the same thing! Enough is enough! by now Sharon, should be a woman of strength and intellect when dealing with adversity, especially when it feels like Victor is behind the set-up. Sharon has her own financial resources where she should be able to hire the best investigators to look into proof of her being made to look guilty. I am also wondering where is Mariah? If anyone who can understand what it’s like to fight for survival, it’s Mariah. I am still very suspicious of Austin not being dead and I would not be surprise that Noah$s fiancee is partners with Austin.

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April 23, 2015 5:50 am

Harry

I do agree, Robert.
I do take issue with Mr Pratt saying that Sharon is only interesting when acting crazy. First, their approach to mental illness is not at all realistic and does a great disservice to those suffering from depression and bi polar disease. Second, we’d really like to see Sharon hitch herself up with her boot straps and become self evolved. Maybe she could re enter college or start up her own business. Watching Sharon engage in a journey of self-reflection, and self-knowledge while attaining confidence WOULD be indeed interesting. This character deserves this and the actress certainly does as well.

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April 23, 2015 9:50 am

Jimh(leave it to beaver)

Id like to see a storyline where this woman arrives at the Newmans claiming to be the real Nikki and played by Erica Hope…is she for real or did Jack hire her to get back at Victor…then a dieing Dina Abbot(now Judith McConnel) arrives in Genoa City and confesses to Jack that he was adopted and his real birth mother also gave up another son a few years early and he now calls himself Victor Newman! Jack and Victor are brothers!!!

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April 22, 2015 3:35 pm

Jimh(leave it to beaver)

Erica Hope was the original Nikki in the late 1970s…lol

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April 22, 2015 3:39 pm

Chrystie Delancey

Ah, Judith McConnel. Just saw an old clip from SANTA BARBARA. Boy how I miss that show. 🙁

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April 23, 2015 8:39 am

Jimh(leave it to beaver)

I miss that show too…

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April 23, 2015 11:30 am

Patrick

Judith McConnell and Jed Allan… Nicholas Coster and Louise Sorel

the Lockridge and Capwell arch-nemesis

supreme CAST

Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on July 30, 1984, and last aired on January 15, 1993

i’m sure most of you recall… how… most networks…. “taped” (shudder) over most all the daytime shows.. hence no record of

Santa Barbara should be still on tape… i’d pay monies for this serial… course I say the same thing about “cbs” Knots Landing…. ?? i’ll never understand this… only the first 2 seasons are available ?

“…. “Knots Landing” was a very-well reviewed and very well-rated television show, but due to unsatisfactory-by-the-standards-set-by-its-heyday sales of the first two seasons on DVD, there have been no further releases. “

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April 24, 2015 10:02 pm

Barbara from Atlanta

Sorry, Jimh. I think your story idea sounds AWFUL. I shuddered as I read it.

Y&R made this type of mistake when it concocted the idea that mortal enemies/decade-long rivals Jill and Kay were related. Even though that relationship turned out to be a “red herring,” those characters NEVER recovered.

The rivalry between Jill vs. Kay and Jack vs. Victor were great sources of plots for decades and served as a huge tent pole for the entire show. Y&R gutted one-half of that resource with the Jill/Kay trainwreck. It would be foolish to repeat that same mistake with Jack & Victor.

UGH.

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April 23, 2015 11:58 am

Jimh(leave it to beaver)

Why be sorry…it was meant to sound awful…it was a joke for Y&R fans who dont like the current double Jack storyline!!! But i guess no one figured it was a joke!!!…lol

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April 24, 2015 10:02 am

Harry

Ha! I never take you seriously, Jim.
I mean that in a good way.

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April 25, 2015 3:07 pm

Laurie A McRae

What I have always liked most about The Young and the Restless, vs. other Daytime Dramas is that the storylines were, until recently, based in “reality” & were centered around the conflict between the two main families, the Newman’s & the Abbott’s. The Young and the Restless has (arguably) the best cast & strongest actors/actresses in Daytime Television! Actors who don’t need all of these disasters, doppelgangers, cartoon-ish murder mysteries & over the top crazies to showcase their talent. Chuck Pratt’s over the top writing style doesn’t fit in Genoa City. The one s/l I am liking is Dylan playing “the White Knight” to Sharon’s “Damsel in Distress.” As long as Pratt keeps Steve Burton happy & in Genoa City, he’s OK by me.

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April 22, 2015 3:35 pm

Jimmy

In terms of the cast, GH is definitely on par with Y&R, they have some amazing actors and actresses too.

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April 22, 2015 8:24 pm

Patrick

i’d sincerely include DAYS with… on par

with GH and Y&R

B&B fans will take note

casts are bringing their A game….

writing team ? we’re ready able willing and DO tune IN

WITH cashola despite our age limitations ??? LOL

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April 24, 2015 10:05 pm

Harry

I like Burton trying to help out the underdog (Sharon) too, Laurie. He’s been so somnolent with Betty Crocker, attorney at law. But with Sharon, Steve Burton just comes to life. Dylan has needed a purpose and Sharon is it. Betty Crocker will have to ask Mo-Joe Rising to frost her cupcakes from now on.
While I could do with out the Jack double, the writing has been good because it pays fidelity to the past. John Abbott’s ghost came out and gave his boy a pep talk (I NEVER want John to go away! Haunt me, JOHN!) and today Jack told Kelly about what Victor did to Patty and how not only did she suffer the fall out for his manipulations, but Colleen lost her life because of it. And yet, Victor received Colleen’s heart. I was happy the writers had Jack unravel this sorry piece of Victor history to Kelly because: A. It demonstrates that Pratt and his writers are infusing the past into their current writing and B. It lends to the anticipation of Victor finally getting his comeuppance. It better happen! Pratt, in the unlikely event that you happen to be reading this you must know that leagues of fans have been waiting for the day for Jack to finally win one over the mustache. If you’re the head writer who makes this happen you will be our hero. As the Nike slogan urges, Just Do IT!

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April 22, 2015 8:47 pm

Timmm

They should have NEVER killed off John Abbott!

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April 23, 2015 9:06 am

CeeCee

Outstanding commentary, Harry……as impressive as always !!!!

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April 23, 2015 8:28 pm

Mr. X

Right on point Laurie. I agree with your Pratt criticism. One of my favorite stories right now is with Gabriel/Adam along with Chelsea. It’s one of the only ones that hasn’t been sucked into the horrible killer on the loose crime story. I look forward to the Gabe/Adam s/l to come where he finally goes after Victor.

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April 22, 2015 10:32 pm

Jimh(leave it to beaver)

Maybe Sage is unbalanced and the real killer on the loose and Gabe/Adam tries to protector…its a soap so there is still time to tie them in…lol

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April 23, 2015 11:34 am

Dinah

Great interview Michael

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April 22, 2015 3:39 pm

Beacon

I wish you’d ask him if he’d bring back Sheila. I loved that iconic character. Kimberlin Brown is so missed on my soap screen.

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April 22, 2015 3:45 pm

Nikki

Sheils is dead Thank God. Nobody could live through what she lived through.

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April 23, 2015 7:53 am

Mary SF

Unless– Lauren killed the real Phyllis during that confrontation years ago, and it has been Sheila posing as Phyllis all this time, which means, it could have been Phyllis who did all those things to Kelly after all — with soaps you never can say never– LOL

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April 23, 2015 9:28 am

Ghlover

Sheila is alive. It was her friend/double called Sugar who had her face changed to look like Phyliss.

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April 23, 2015 2:13 pm

seattlegirl

I think Mr. Pratt likes to pat himself on the back. Problem is he didn’t come into just the last few years of what has transpired on the show, he inherited 42 years of history. Bill Bell’s show had an elegance about it. It wasn’t about shock an awe but rather about families, business, the glitz and glam our, romance (not everyone bed hopping), social issues, and in a way the have and have not’s. We saw the likes of Brad the pool boy work his way up to a top executive, Nikki go from a dancer/stripper to Mrs. Victor Newman, etc. Sadly it isn’t a surprise that Pratt is uninterested in telling Michael’s cancer story line. Bill Bell told numerous social issues over the years, one that really set the show apart from others was when he told Keesha’s Aids story line. Thank goodness across the hall there is a Bell who learned a thing or two from Bill Bell. Brad like his dad is leading in this genre, telling Maya’s transgender story line with the integrity and respect it deserves. Cancer is a serious matter and to be dismissed in such a manner is not only insulting to the actors who are in this story but to the viewers who have invested in this story to all but watched it back burned on Chuck Pratt’s watch. YR is #1 because of the foundation Bill Bell and his team laid. Using the guise of #YR isn’t going to keep people tuning in. Ratings have not been consistent under his leadership, I am sure advertisers are very interested in that. Here’s hoping Nina Tassler, CBS Daytime and Steve Kent, Sony wake up before YR is more than flirting with disaster.

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April 22, 2015 3:58 pm

Lucia

You are absolutely right, seattlegirl. I think what his answers to some of these questions illustrates is a basic inability to write stories that are creative and human. Instead, what I’m seeing these days are over-the-top narratives that make a mockery of the talents of the actors. Everyone likes to see Sharon crazy? Really? And what he has done to Kelly is disgusting! You can’t just walk in after they crafted this love story between her and Jack full of Vivaldi and – gasp – normalcy, to suddenly turn her into a blonde version of Kathy Bates’s character in Misery. When she whacked Jack over the head with a baseball bat, I thought: am I watching the same show? Are we supposed to forget the past and just assume that she lost her marbles? And why is it female characters always losing their minds?
Why hasn’t Victor been committed to a hospital for extreme narcissism and an obsession with doppelgängers? Even the transitions between scenes are different. They are so abrupt and reminiscent of the other soaps that to me always seemed so inferior to the elegance, as you say, of Y and R. So sad.

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April 22, 2015 8:49 pm

CeeCee

You spoke my mind, Lucia. Great post.

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April 23, 2015 8:29 pm

Lew S

Thank you!

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April 22, 2015 9:01 pm

Mr. X

I’m with you seattlegirl but as long as the Y&R ratings stay near where they are now, Mr. Pratt isn’t going anywhere.

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April 22, 2015 10:36 pm

Karlie

I don’t think the ratings will stay where they are. They will inevitably fall because Pratt’s writing style does not fit with this show and the reason fans have made it #1.

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April 23, 2015 5:51 am

mzbeautlee

Ive been a consistent fan of Y&R for decades and Im leaning towards cancelling the dvr recording every day. The writing has gotten outrageous…its almost as if Pratt is making things up as he goes along without considering the story lines from the previous decades. How many times can we do this switcharoo routine of someone impersonating someone else!? And of all the outrageous things Victor has done, this seems to be a little over the top. Victors going to trust the suddenly psychotic Kelly to keep his arch nemesis Jack under lock and key so he can take over Jabot? Victors brutal but hes not stupid…lets be serious here. Abby went from her nieces husband to her sisters recent boyfriend??? Killed summers husband and noahs fiance all in the same month. And dont even get me started on the winters. The only thing i like is the fact that everyone has a storyline going right now, but the extreme changes in characters is unrealistic and gives the impression Pratt doesnt really know these characters at all.
The people love sharon??? Give me a break

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April 23, 2015 7:23 am

april

always been number 1 so why did they have to change ?

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April 26, 2015 9:31 pm

Ron

My sentiments exactly! There was certainly a lot of “I” talk in that interview, and that is never a good sign. There were honest moments as well, so I would like to give the new head writer a little rope to play with.

But you are 100% correct about the origins of Y and R. Bill Bell never did things for the mere shock value: a viewer since I was a kid, a viewer who met and learned the writing process from Bill himself, it was always to inform and entertain. Never forget how he handled Jeanne Cooper’s real-life facelift for Katherine Chancellor. Powerful.

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April 23, 2015 7:49 am

seattlegirl

You are very fortunate to have been able to learn the process from Mr. Bell. What an amazing opportunity. Currently I’d love to learn Julian Fellowes or Brad Bell’s writing process. Their style of work is reminiscent of Mr. Bell’s . I love writers who can really develop their characters, especially when they write them in the grey area. Thank you for sharing your experience with all of us.

I wasn’t watching YR back when Bill wrote Jeanne’s facelift into the show. I do know about it and have seen it in the flashback moments. He was a visionary who left his mark not only in daytime but in the entertainment world. I love that he thought outside the box and it has been such fun seeing his son Brad following in his footsteps.

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April 23, 2015 11:27 am

Nikki

I don’t get it Bill Bell and classy HUH!! Catherine C. was a drunk, Jill slept with everyone she could get, The 3 Brook girls we’re so horrible to one another. One wrote a book about the other and all hell broke loose. Mr. Brook couldn’t keep his pants on, his housekeeper who Jill thought was her mother had a crush on him. Victor was going to strip joints where he met Nikki, He locked his first wife in the basement Paul was a bed hopper everything he could get from Lauren to Nikki and got a girl pregnant then dumped her. That’s only the surface of the iceberg. Good writing YES classy NO

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April 23, 2015 7:51 am

seattlegirl

Bill started those characters there and with time was able to show character growth. I don’t think that can be said today, if anything more characters have regressed rather than progressed. That is where things differ. So yes, I would say he wrote stories in a classier way and told them with respect, most specifically his social story lines. Bill was character driven writer instead of plot driven. 5 disasters in a matter of days is a bit much, no. Nick Newman’s bartender died. We are to believe Nick who is richer than rich didn’t hear from any of the bartender’s family or friends about a building that didn’t meet code and collapsed and was the cause of death. What exactly was the purpose of the collapse? To watch faux Jack and Kelly have sex on the floor. Talk about class.

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April 23, 2015 10:54 am

Nikki

Seattlegirl’ We’ll have to agree to disagree on those comments. I think when someone is dead we as human’s always put them on a pedestal. If we could look back into the past I think he would have had just as many complaints as C.Pratt only for different story lines. I remember my Mom watching As the world turns and getting so upset with the character Lisa Hughes after it was over she would talk about how she was going to write a letter to the show. Having sex on a floor is not classy I agree so it was way back when Jill had sex in the attic of the Chancellor estate while Kay C. was passed out from booze. I think we need to recognize that times have changed and Bill Bell is dead. Christine (Paul’s wife) is a Bell and her story is not that popular to the fans. I agree about Nick’s bar and if this happened to one of us we’d be in court or jail but just look at everything that Victor has gotten away with! It’s just drama and a sign of the times.I watch G.H. as well and I have to tell you if anyone I knew tried half the stuff Elena Cassidine has done they would be behind bars for life.

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April 23, 2015 11:50 am

Mary SF

I think you are rewriting history a bit there– Paul was never a bed hopper. He was young and he got a STD from Nikki, which was and still is a realistic story to tell involving young sexually active people. Then he met April, she became pregnant, and Paul being from a religious family did the honorable thing and married her. They tried to raise Heather together, but April became unhappy, and wanted more from life. She wanted to move to the big city and she wanted to raise Heather alone, when she fell in love with a new guy, who later turned out to be wife beater. Then Paul met Lauren, he was faithful to her, all through their marriage, it was Lauren who cheated on him. Paul has been the most loyal decent guy and you take his history and take events out of context to try to prove you point. The same with Victor, Victor never had his wife Julia in the basement. At the time Victor was only to be a short term character. Julia was modeling at Jabot and Michael her photographer was her friend. She was confiding in him because her marriage to Victor was a bust. However Victor had put her on this pedestal, and couldn’t have anyone ruining his creation, so he put Michael in the basement. Later when Victor caught on, they wrote him an interesting background that would explain his choices. And then when he finally admitted his marriage to Julia was over, he was in a funk. His friend Col. Austin who was also friends with Katherine, took him to strip club to get his mind off his troubles. There Victor met Nicole, and was enchanted by her. He wanted to make her his new project, but instead despite his best efforts, he fell in love with her. This was a classic love story, and you took one element, again out of context to try prove your point. The content of stories are pretty much the same, many movies today can find their plots in plays from Shakespeare, but the content isn’t the issue, it is the way the story is told. Bill Bell told stories in classy way, doesn’t mean the subject matter was always classy, but the stories were written in well developed story with layers to it. Characters had motivations to explain their behavior. In Bell’s day, Devon might have slept with his father wife, but there would have been a back story to explain why he would hurt Neil like that. New writers just have him do it for no reason other than he was in love- how did he fall in love? Why was in love? None of that was told, just one day Devon decided he was in love with her and so in love it didn’t matter if he betrayed Neil, the man who raise him, and gave him a life– made no sense, and in Bill Bell’s day, a story that… Read more »

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April 23, 2015 1:09 pm

Chrystie Delancey

Excellent post, seattlegirl!

So he doesn’t want to tell Michael’s story? Too bad. It was started, so finish it. This would be a TREMENDOUS opportunity for ALL the Baldwins to gather around Michael instead of focus on his erectile dysfunction. Where is Gloria? Kevin should be with his brother instead of thrown in with the Scooby Doo Gang. Heck, even Jeffrey could have scenes with his wife, Gloria, and have some character development in a positive way.

I guess Pratt thinks us older viewers are old farts and unhip and does not care what we think.

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April 23, 2015 8:44 am

Harry

Why was Victoria acting like a total smug bitch today? I know, I know, when doesn’t she?
But Victoria, as played by Amelia, has always had a sensitive side. Today, when she took Ashley’s place and waved her off as her employee she was acting like Heather Tom’s Victoria.

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April 23, 2015 7:18 pm

CeeCee

I must say, that I am impressed with everyone on this site. All your posts are amazing. All of you make so much sense, put everything in perspective so eloquently, that I get goose bumps. You guys are great writers.

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April 23, 2015 8:33 pm

Timmm

BUT, he said and it is true, prostrate cancer is very curable and they are not killing Michael off so whats the point? Also, ED stories, come on. Its treatable and no good wife would walk away or cheat on their husband just because of that if she really loved him. Shallow!

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April 23, 2015 9:10 am

Harry

They better not have Lauren cheat on Michael once again, Timm! She has been spending a lot of time with Cane lately. While I love the idea of Cane cheating on Lily thereby giving that whiny cry baby something valid to cry about, I would rather he not cheat with ole Lusty Lauren.

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April 23, 2015 9:54 am

seattlegirl

Pratt saying it in an interview and showing it on the screen are two different things. It would be like Brad Bell not showing the beats to Maya’s transgender story and just ignoring the fact that it was ever brought up. I understand Pratt didn’t start Michael’s cancer story line but play the rest of the beats and finish it not isolate the character and act like it never happened or sweep it under the rug as quickly and quietly as possible. It would be the same as reading a book, getting 2/3rd of the way through only to find blank pages towards the end. I do find it worrisome that a writer is uncomfortable about a subject so they won’t tackle it due to those feelings. If a writer can only stay within their comfort zone how much creativity can there be? Pratt is obviously comfortable with death, destruction, making women unbalanced, and musical beds rather than real relationships which were a staple to the Bell Drama’s. It was about families, friends, and yes even foes. Characters were developed in such a way where you could understand or see why they were doing the things they did. How can you explain Abby having a off screen romance with her nieces husband, who she claims is her great love to today having her land in bed with her sisters ex boyfriend of mere minutes. On the whole, there is no development on any level or even character growth for that matter. Disasters that Pratt likes to do work but usually for just a short term gain. We will see if his layout and vision work long term. Didn’t work out too well for AMC.

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April 23, 2015 10:36 am

Timmm

Oh Harry, Lusty Lauren, you made my day!

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April 23, 2015 11:46 am

The Substitute

Lauren was always the naughty bad girl so was Jill Foster the writing teams have declawed them and Michael Baldwin was something else in the day. They all three have become boring! Sharon Case has taken a total 180 on her character but she looks to be having a blast and what a wardrobe she gets to wear.

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April 23, 2015 12:41 pm

Linda Torrence

I so agree. My brother just diagnosed with prostate cancer and I have to say, Christians’s storyline has been very helpful for us. It is like getting a glimpse in to what it will be like towards the end of his hormone and radiation treatments. So until Y&R showing this, we would have been in the dark. These kind of real life issues actually help people a great deal. I was disappointed with the article and the new writer’s zeal for EXTRA unrealistic drama. I love the show for the development of mostly real situations albeit exaggerated. I also don’t like the style of making a character like Kelly crazy out of nowhere; that made no sense and doesn’t fit her (Kelly). Then Abby’s affair… just wasn’t done right, didn’t feel right, didn’t feel like Y&R. On a Y&R facebook group I’m in, nobody likes all the air time and development of the teenage group. They feel like the show has turned into the “teenagers and restless” and find it quite bothersome. On the other hand they love their established characters and love the new Adam. They do not like the new writer(s) at all because they do not like all that has been lost from the show. I wonder if the writers ever check out social media for what people talk about daily about the show. I was shocked at how devoted people are to this show.

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April 23, 2015 1:52 pm

Joe

Seattlegirl, thank you for your intelligent remarks!! When I met my 90 year old mom for dinner the other night, and asked what’s been happening on Y&R (her favorite daytime show since around 1980) she said she doesn’t watch much anymore, because something changed, and the characters are acting funny. She said Victor is acting too self-righteous, and she doesn’t understand how all the younger actors are now all of a sudden friends, because they never were before.

She picked up on the writing changes, and she got turned off. And this from a woman who would never miss an episode of Y&R, now in just a few months, she’s turned it off. Good going Mr. Pratt.

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April 23, 2015 4:23 pm

Carolyn

I have been a fan since the beginning. Even thru some stupid storylines, I continued to watch. Still a loyal fan even when the rtings were going down. But now, I have no qualms about fast fordwarding thru these farout story llines. Please, there are some vet. soap watchers out there and having to watch such far out story lines is totally unkind to us that have supported the show thru thick and thin. I find it totally hard to believe that the ratings have gone up. Give us loyal fans a break and not treat us like we are not realize such poor writing and storylines. I agree with one of the other replys that Katherine Chancler and Bill Bell are turning over in their graves at this poor quality of their show now. Granted, this is my opinion but, hopefully, you are reading more then my opinion. PLEASE !! keep our favorite soap on and not go the way of Guilding Light and As the World Turns. I do believe I read you were one of the head writers on them also. Is that right? Please treat us like we do have a little more sense then you are writing for now.

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April 23, 2015 10:22 pm

Julie Haze

Pratt is delusional if the thinks the audience likes his trash writing. It appears he writes for himself alone. The storylines have become laughable and over the top campy. Y&R doesn’t even look like Y&R anymore. It’s a cartoon show now: silly and for really dumb people. I guess CBS and Sony have found their perfect demographic.

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April 22, 2015 3:58 pm

Nancy Law

I agree with you 100%. I just finished watching Canada’s Tuesday show and omg it was so ridiculous, so over the top, so far fetched … just plain stupid and not the Y&R anymore. I hate what he’s done with this show and I don’t believe for 1 second that he gives a crap about the viewers!

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April 22, 2015 11:19 pm

Lew S

Nancy, You are so right. He doesn’t care and so cocky! Is he really proud of “THE EVENT OF THE DAY” stories that’s airing now? CBS wise up!!

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April 23, 2015 3:51 pm

Nikki

But lady’s as long as the ratings are going up five million and counting he will continue because the ratings are the tell tale.

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April 23, 2015 7:40 am

Timmm

Julie, comparing Y&R and its history, yes it has change BUT so have the viewers and their habits. ALL these soaps have to be over the top and catch peoples eyes every week or people will check out and find a zillion other shows to watch! I will admit though I dont want any writer from any show to mess with history.

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April 23, 2015 9:13 am

Carolyn

Totally agree. The soaps should be written for the fans to keep them watching not the other way around. You may be happy but, THE FANS ARE NOT !!!!

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April 23, 2015 10:25 pm

Christine

I think Chuck Pratt Jr should be fired as the head writer of Y&R for his (Stuck On Stupid) writing. The Jack/Victor story line is silly. How many times has Phyllis and Jack had sex? Phyllis cannot tell the difference between the fake Jack and the real one, really!!!! Please end this story as well as, the Austin murder story.

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April 22, 2015 4:00 pm

Mary SF

It is what it is. I do agree that head writers should stick to their guns and tell the story they want to tell, because when soaps get written by committee is usually becomes worse not better. Whether or not the majority of viewers will be as happy with his stories as he seems to be time will tell. As I said before I am not loving it, but I ain’t hating it either.

As for the questions I am not intrigue by two Jacks yet, perhaps there is twist along the way that will make this soap staple different from all the other tales of two that been told, but I haven’t seen it yet.

Right now I think Fake Jake killed Austin and Courtney because both saw footage of him in the park at the same time as real Jack and he took matters in his own hands and killed them without Victor’s say so.

I don’t think crazy Sharon is more interesting, I find her annoying– I think they way they portray her mental illness is a disservice to those who really have the illness. I don’t mind Sharon being her own worst enemy, but I think a bigger challenge would be for a writer to find a way to make her interesting with relying on her illness as an crutch. I do like Dylan being her protector, that has possibilities if written well.

As for Adam, I don’t mind waiting for the reveal, but for heaven’s sake to something with the man other than have him make puppy dog eyes at Chelsea. Adam was a ruthless SOB at times, so as long as we start seeing Adam do something beside chase after Chelsea I will be happy.

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April 22, 2015 4:02 pm

Mary SF

Jeepers I can’t keep all my fake’s straight– that should read Fake Jack, not Fake Jake who killed Austin and Courtney– LOL

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April 23, 2015 7:28 am

Harry

Mary, somehow I read it as you writing Fake Jack anyway so your point came through loud and clear.
And it’s an excellent point.
I also agree that Adam needs to zero in on the Newman and Jabot businesses the way a white shark would zero in on a seal.

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April 23, 2015 9:57 am

Timmm

Your right Mary, Fake Jack killed those kids and they will switch Jacks and the real one will be put away and of course the fake one will slip up down the line and take Jack’s place in jail. It could be a good story to tell if written well.

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April 23, 2015 9:18 am

Mary SF

I don’t know that sounds a little too much like when Patty forced Emily the shrink to take her place in the mental institution. But it might be the way they go, it seems like a reasonable way to extend the double story– to give it an added twist. I guess we will have to wait and see

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April 23, 2015 12:15 pm

The Substitute

Lot of rumors from bloggers that say Austin is not dead that he is who Courtney saw on the computer and so he killed her. Supposedly Dylan is going to be made the hero and find out he is alive and farming Sharon. To me that would make perfect sense I mean he did try to kill Avery and then almost killed Paul but yet he was let go. Avery the cup cake Queen thought that was ok but Sharon deserved to lose her child over changing paternity tests which heck Nick the wonder boy kept a secret for 18 years. As for the Fake Jack they all should have known something was up when Jack shoed up in a. Polo shirt and not a suit. Duh!

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April 23, 2015 12:18 pm

The Substitute

Framing!

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April 23, 2015 12:18 pm

The Substitute

Showed! I am so sorry for the typos not my day for posting

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April 23, 2015 12:20 pm

jane

Thank you Mary for trying to calm me down. I really appreciate that. I am just very passionate when it comes to Matthew Atkinson ( Austin ). It is just that I really want to see him back in the opening credits again. I miss him a lot.

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April 23, 2015 3:39 pm

Timmm

He is handsome. He reminds me of a young Kyle MacLachlan from “Twin Peaks.”

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April 24, 2015 7:02 am

LindaTNo1

To the ruining of All My Children and almost The beloved Hubbard’s, Jesse.

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April 22, 2015 4:05 pm

jeremy

He literally Destroyed All My Children!!!!!

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April 23, 2015 7:30 am

Eliza

So no questions about Jill?
She is the only original character remaining on Y&R from the debut in 1973.

Why are older male writers, AND the older males in the soap press , so interested in the older male soap characters but have no interest in the older females? Aren’t most of the viewers females over 40? Shouldn’t the soap press be asking, and the Y&R scribes be writing, a few things for the majority of the viewers, not just what personally interests them?

There are are plenty of shows on prime time, and cable networks, that include older women so it’s just crazy that daytime ignores them.

I started watching Y&R in grade school and loved watching Mrs. C. Even though she seemed 80 years old to me, she and Jill were the most interesting characters on the show. Not to mention they’re only reason I started, and kept, watching Y&R. No matter a viewers age or sex, older women characters like Jill can be just as interesting as Jack, Victor, Neil, and Micheal.

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April 22, 2015 4:16 pm

4ever DAYS

Jack and Jill will go up a hill to fetch a pail of water, but Jack is really the doppelganger who will throw Jill into the well and Jill’s doppelganger will take over her non existent life!

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April 22, 2015 10:02 pm

Ron

I am right there with you on this one, too! I have seen the show from the beginning… how can they simply put Jill to pasture? She should be holed up in the Chancellor mansion and become what she always despised: Katherine Chancellor! WRITERS: how can you overlook this incredible link to the past?

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April 23, 2015 7:52 am

Timmm

Yes, I thought she would take Kathrine’s place at the mansion but Kathrine had class and the respect of others. I cannot say the same thing about the character of Jill.

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April 24, 2015 7:03 am

Timmm

Nikki had a big story with Ian Ward. You have to understand that Jill is just not interesting since Katherine has been gone. Lauren will have a big story soon. Kelly is a little older and has a front burner story.

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April 23, 2015 9:21 am

Barbara from Atlanta

The ONLY reason that original character Jill is not interesting since Kay died is that there has been NO writing playing to that character’s strengths.

Jill is the only character tied to the very beginning of the show. She is the reason that the Abbotts were brought onto the show — She married John. Her son, Billy, is a prominent character on the show.

How often do we EVER see Jill in any scene of significance with the Abbotts or Billy? The writers inanely have bogged Jill down with the trials and issues of Cane and his family. Jill so infrequently mentions her OWN son, Billy, and is put in a scene with him that a lot of new viewers may not even realize that they are related. If we can’t even get a few scenes with Jill and these characters, the likelihood of an actual storyline tying them together seems slim.

Jill has been boring since Kay left because the writing for her has been garbage. It definitely is NOT because Jill has no worth. The writers just don’t seem to recognize it or, more likely, are too busy planning “towering inferno” plots and focusing on Dylan and Avery to even give Jill any crumbs.

Things like the mishandling of Jill are the type of things that ultimately will get Y&R cancelled. The “enlightened” writers at ATWT thought they knew best when they pushed Janet, Katie and other newbies on us while 45-year veteran character Lisa was reduced to a breathing prop. Look where all that “enlightened” development got them —– ATWT was cancelled.

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April 23, 2015 12:09 pm

CeeCee

I agree about Lauren. However, I don’t know if I will like the storyline reserved for her.
I just get this feeling that Caine and Lauren will indulge, and savor the forbidden fruit from the proverbial apple tree.

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April 23, 2015 8:44 pm

Ron

Timmm

Katherine had a world of class, but those first few years of the show, she was diabolical– a raging alcoholic who killed her husband, took everything Phillip gave to Jill and child from Jill, then fought Jill for another man (Derek Thurston.) It took us to the hourlong expansion of the 80s to find a redemptive Katherine, the one we love, admire and miss. Because history repeats itself, it would have been great to see Jill wear Katherine’s shoes in a lonely mansion, take on a “paid companion” and fight each other for the love of a man (or have Colin’s eye fix on some young thing, like Sage, a gold-digger… now there’s a thought.)

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April 25, 2015 9:55 am

Derrick

By reading his responses, I’m not sure if I’m going to like Pratt’s work! He’s fine for right now but it’s worrying me!

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April 22, 2015 4:23 pm

4ever DAYS

You have nothing to worry about. Chuck Pratt is a huge fan of General Hospital.

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April 22, 2015 10:04 pm

Derrick

And that’s suppose to make me happy?????

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April 23, 2015 4:44 pm

Laurie

Honestly Y&R fans needn’t be bashing General Hospital right now. I mean, REALLY?! The biggest sh*t years ever for GH was in the early to mid 2000’s with the Nik doppelganger crap (sound familiar?) and the psycho murder rampage of the once meek Mary Bishop (sound familiar?) and super-smart, no nonsense lawyer,Alexis, slinging Alcazar over a balcony (sound familiar?) then her losing her child to The Q’s & having her disguising herself as a man & getting hired as a butler named Dobson & getting hired by The Q’s to steal time w/her child (wonder who will get to cross-dress on Y&R?-hope it’s Betty!) Who was the HW during this nightmare? Chuck Pratt!! He drags the same tired sl’s from soap to soap. Y&R’s much campier than GH and camp is not my thing, but frankly, GH does it better. I mean, Pratt can’t even excel at the crap style he engages in!!!

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April 25, 2015 6:49 pm

The Substitute

Well at least he did not say like the last three HW’s we are going to make Sharon stronger. Damsel in Distress about sums it up and yes I like her with Dylan . The last four soaps are just trying to stay on the air.

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April 22, 2015 4:24 pm

Jimmy

It’s truly sad what the writers have done to Sharon, dating back to the MAB days. I don’t understand how one of the shows core characters, who’s been here so long, is the whole town’s whipping girl and doormat. This whole thing with Sharon being set up as the murderer only serves to push her and Dylan closer together, which I’m not upset about, because he and Avery are as dull as dirt.

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April 22, 2015 8:28 pm

teamCillin

It would of been nice if Jill and Colin were mentioned. So far not impressed with Chucky.

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April 22, 2015 4:32 pm

Myssy

Neither am I. Seriously Jill Foster Atkinson should have some story. This is ridiculous.

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April 22, 2015 8:35 pm

Nikki

I’m sorry to disagree Myssy but Jill Foster Abbott Fenmore Atkinson is a bore. I do think there was a time with Katherine that the character of Jill was great but although a lot of people keep on harping back to the good old days with the Bell family at the head, I think the stories back then we’re great for that time period. The Brook family/Newman’s & the Abbott’s but I think for 2015 the writing is great. I can’t see the fan’s getting excited over Jill’s mother having a crush on Mr. Brook’s or the three sisters having a fight over one writing a book. People complain about Nikki being a drunk but really how many times back then was Kay Chancellor drunk? Summer vacation is coming so I can guess we will be infested with more of Summer on a daily basis. However I watch till June then do gardening till Sept. when the kiddy-doodle is gone.JMO

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April 23, 2015 7:33 am

Harry

Ehhh…..I hate to agree Nikki, but I think you’re right about Jill.
I do think they’re wasting Triston Rogers on her.
I wish he had been paired up with Ashley and the two of them would go toe to toe with the mustache.
Once again, Tristan Rogers is being wasted.

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April 23, 2015 9:59 am

Timmm

Seriously. those two characters are washed up! Mr. Pratt talked in detail about a whole bunch of other relevant characters.

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April 23, 2015 9:23 am

Mr. X

Mr. Pratt is batting about .500 on his writing with this longtime Y&R viewer. I can tolerate the doppleganger story because it’s with the great Peter Bergman. I just wish he would stay away from the Scooby Doo mystery and crime stories.

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April 22, 2015 4:35 pm

Lucy

So his favorite story lines are dopplegangers, “wackadoodle” “crazy” women, guys with guns, murder. Not surprising seeing how this is what is playing out. He admits he’s done doppleganger stories previously, why not do something new, different? Why is Adam Newman so dumb now? Where is the character driven dialogue and story? The drama? The only thing shocking and awe inducing is how bad Y&R is these days.

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April 22, 2015 4:44 pm

CeeCee

Yes, Lucy, I agree. Where is Adam’s steam? His incentive? All he was striving for was to get Chelsea in bed? Why isn’t he fighting as Adam Newman would? Have his sails lost their wind?
It seems that this story has reached a standstill. For how long will this limbo state continue?
Gabe/Adam should be given, at least, a small clue that he did not run over Delia. He should have some kind of epiphany…. Delve into the recesses of his memory which will magically spur him into action.
By so doing, Billy will finally go back to Victoria ….she needs his impossibly yucky presence in her life as punishment for turning into her father’s daughter. I am not particularly liking Victoria right now. I have always loved her…always been the greatest fan. But, the writers are changing her persona. She’s losing Victoria’s essence.

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April 23, 2015 9:02 pm

Elizabeth

I have a lot of problems with his justification for goofy and bizarre stories. I see him as a man writing for a show that is primarily watched by women, who like romance, adventure, strong women, not dopplegangers and wackos. Steve Burton has been pretty much boring on Y & R. What made him great on GH was his strong silent passionate self; the mobster part made him intense and unattainable but it was not about the violence or the mob.

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April 22, 2015 4:44 pm

Liz Garcia

I stopped watching this soap for many months when I had been an avid fan since it started in 1973, because the stories and the new characters were driving me nuts. I started watching again in December because I just can’t give up my Y&R totally. I like where some of the stories are going with this new “guy on the block” (at least new at Y&R). Thank goodness we see more of Jack and Victor. Also Nicki and Sharon. Can we get John back? I really miss him..It’s a soap, they can find him alive somewhere.. Kelly going wacko was too much, although I guess somebody had to be in order to do the doppelganger story. Chuck says…”When I first got to Y&R people were drinking coffee and having conversations, and sometimes very interesting conversations. Now they come in and they’re red-faced and their blood pressure is up. ” I agree to a point, but some of these actors can’t do red-faced well. Over acting. Especially that scene with Summer yelling at Abby. But all in all I have to say, my interest is piquing

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April 22, 2015 4:59 pm

Timmm

Well written. You mentioned Summer. She either yells or whines at anyone who is within an earshot of her! Mr. Pratt likes the actress and most of us do not. That was the only negative vibe I got from the interview. We are stuck with Hunter King!

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April 23, 2015 9:27 am

Harry

I am so tired of Summer screeching at everyone. Can they please turn her into Buddhist monk who has taken a vow of silence as well as a vow of silence?
This girl is the double H–she’s hysterical and horny.
I think we ought to change her name to Bummer.

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April 23, 2015 10:02 am

Harry

I meant to write ‘chastity’ as the second vow. I guess writing silence twice was me projecting my great wish that Bummer shuts the hell up.

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April 23, 2015 10:03 am

Nikki

Oh I could not agree more. I can’t stand her. I think she was hired by that woman nobody likes but not C.Pratt. I don’t like her acting, her high pitched voice and I don’t think she suits the role. If it wasn’t for the age I think Emma Becher would have been a great Summer. This one is so big and bulky (arms,face etc.) she just doesn’t fit.

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April 24, 2015 10:46 am

CeeCee

You are absolutely right, Harry. Sharon deserves a challenge, if only to prove herself worthy of any obstacle or of any ONE….especially members of the Newman family. Perhaps the trial will give her the incentive she needs. She has been used and abused by this self-appointed emperor of GC that is Victor and his holier-than-thou children.
Look at Victoria’s look of self-satisfaction the other day; like the cat that ate the canary…..her fixed stare of defiance boring into Sharon, as if stating….” Here I am….I dare you!!! What are you going to do about it??!!” …..too bad, I really like Victoria. But, if TPTB are turning her into a mini-me, as in, Victor….there goes my respect for her.
This family drove Sharon to where she presently finds herself mentally.
I agree that Sharon needs to take charge of herself…lance and shield in hand, and take the bull by the horns.
I liked her best with Adam/Muhney. Those two were superlative together. Unforgettable episodes!!!!! But,
I don’t know how Sharon’s character/persona will mesh with Hartley.
As far as I can see, she and Dylan have a connection. I don’t know if the writers are trying to boost Steve’s reception and perception by some of the not-so-affable fans by making him look like the hero, or if it is done to bring these two together……we shall see. Nonetheless, I think that Dylan’s involvement in almost everything happening in GC is overkill.

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April 26, 2015 11:08 am

Joyce McCullough

i don’t like this storyline about Austin mystery, it’s taking to long and also Adam identity its to much going on at one time. And Jack and Victor no way., that will drag out too.

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April 22, 2015 5:10 pm

Lori

I believe after 40 plus years of watching this show that they have finally hired the writer that will crush Y&R. They only person crazier than what HE plans to do with Sharon’s character is the writer himself. I am beyond the demo numbers so for me I am just a fly buzzing in his ear. I am crushed with the stories playing out now. I want the Newmans back to being Newmans and the Abbotts back to being Abbotts and for GOD sake put Katherine’s family back together and give us her house back. Save the kids storylines for the summer and let us grown ups have our daytime tv. The whole thing sucks!

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April 22, 2015 5:22 pm

Jimmy

Re: Katherine’s family: THANK YOU! I’ve said the same thing! Jill needs to be on WAY more than she is now, same with Colin. And even though Beau Kazer sadly passed away, recast Brock and bring him back to town. And while they’re at it, bring back his daughter Mac too!

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April 22, 2015 8:30 pm

Ron

Bravo! That’s the way it always was: kid stories were for the summer time slots only. Think back on how Nina, Cricket, Danny,lLauren: all started with summer storylines only… then Dru… Bill Bell knew his audiences!

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April 23, 2015 7:55 am

Timmm

Yes Lori you mentioned the three core families and I agree with you they should be front and center. The problem is Kathrine is gone and Jill is nothing without Katherine. I think we all got caught up with the passing of Jeanne Cooper. The role should have been recasted. No one could do a better job than Jeanne but its a huge hole in the show and thats why the Chancellors and Jill are dead. I said after Katherine died Tucker [William Russ] should have laid claim to the Chancellor estate. If you kill off Kathrine, this is your best bet!

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April 23, 2015 9:44 am

bunting

Ironic. Chuck Pratt won’t write for the cancer story because ED has been played over and over again but has no problem doing yet another doppelganger story or so many cheating stories it boggles the mind. Does he even realize how many doppelganger stories have been played on Y&R in recent years? I don’t remember any other prostate cancer storIes. Not many ED stories either. And I guess he doesn’t care about the message being sent to those actually battling this cancer because he personally is uncomfortable with the topic. I think that was the point. To take this topic out of the shadows so men wouldn’t be embarrassed or so uncomfortable to talk about prostate cancer. Who cares if it might actually help someone in the audience. By the way, the only one isolating the Baldwins is Pratt himself. He barely writes for Likey and doesn’t allow their friends and family to interact with them, even while they are battling cancer. Playing them only once a week, if that, is what is isolating them. But I guess his answer is to blow up the marriage because its not like they just played that story.

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April 22, 2015 5:32 pm

Chrystie Delancey

I wholeheartedly agree!

I know I go on and on about missing Gloria, but the fact is, Judith Chapman has more talent in her pinky than Hunter King and her Summer character it is beyond sickening that she is not on our screens. Gloria may be self-centered, but she loves her family. She would be there if it were not for this horrible writing.

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April 23, 2015 8:50 am

Timmm

Cancer stories tend to be sad. If they are not going to kill off Michael, whats the point? Twins plays a lot better with so many angles available. Yes it has been done a lot but if it is written well it could be fun. Plus your dealing with its two number one stars in this story. Almost a cant miss.

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April 23, 2015 9:53 am

bunting

Who cares if the story is sad, at times. That’s a human emotion. It’s something we can relate to. It’s the journey that matters and Pratt is not allowing the Baldwins to go on that emotional journey because apparently it makes him uncomfortable. What world is he living in? Do commercials for viagra or people dealing with cancer make him uncomfortable to? No, he’d rather blow up a family that write an emotional story about how a couple deals with prostate cancer in a grown up way.

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April 23, 2015 4:55 pm

Chrystie Delancey

So what is so wrong about being sad? The reason most of us watch soaps in the first place is for an escape from our own lives, but we still want our stories rooted in reality. Some of us like a good cry now and then. Life is not all sunshine and roses and soaps used to reflect real life. Now they think shock and awe is where it is at, but it is most definitely not.

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April 23, 2015 7:40 pm

Lew S.

So, he isn’t really concerned what the audience likes, eh? That is so obvious. It matters to him that he likes what’s on the screen – obvious again! This is the same attitude he had when writing for AMC and he pissed off the fans and the stars of the show and was eventually canned and the show cancelled soon after. If what he mentioned is the new direction for Y&R, then I am sorry to say I am done. I love the show, but it is becoming unrecognizable and not an enjoyable hour – for me. Why did they hire this man?!! His track record speaks for itself.

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April 22, 2015 5:47 pm

jeremy

And Chucky, is the one that Killed off Stuart!!! So watch out Y&R fans. This guy is a no good HEad Writer!! He made All My Children look like a cartoon!!!

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April 23, 2015 7:35 am

Harry

Jeremy! Chuck Pratt was responsible for the death of Stuart Chandler? Well, that is unforgivable. Stuart was one of the best soap characters in soap history.
And talk about an actor playing two different roles. David Canary was a genius at it. Michael Knight (Tadd martin) once said to really understand Canary’s brilliance one should watch Canary playing Adam playing Stuart. It’s really really subtle but the viewer can catch that that is really the dastardly Adam impersonating his sweet brother Stuart.

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April 23, 2015 10:09 am

Timmm

Just my opinion but Charles Pratt is more of a scapegoat for AMC demise. ABC wanted out of the soap business. OLTL was the other soap that wasnt on ABC’s list of wants. Remarkably GH lasted and is thriving. Frank Valenti saved that show. If it wasnt making money we would be watching another crusty old judge or another cooking show learning how to make a roast interesting for the millionth time! So you can point fingers at Mr. Pratt but if he fails at Y&R they wont close up shop, they will bring on someone new. AMC and OLTL closed up shop! Thats what ABC wanted.

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April 23, 2015 9:59 am

Michael (not Fairman)

I think “scapegoat” is the wrong word. “Collaborator,” maybe, even if unwittingly? A scapegoat gets the blame for something for which he is blameless. That doesn’t describe Pratt’s part in the debacle accurately. ABC may have wanted out, but had Pratt raised the ratings instead of tanking them, or even if he’d left the show in a state that could be repaired instead of destroying the fabric of it, so that somebody else could fix it, ABC wouldn’t have had the justification to cancel it. His part in damaging the show stands, even if ABC was looking for a reason to cancel it. Blameless, he was not.

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April 23, 2015 12:05 pm

jane

Hey Timmm, no I am not Matthew Atkinson’s mother. I am just a person who really likes him a lot. I have a BIG CRUSH on him. It is BAD!!! To me he is just Absolutely Positively Adorably Handsome, to me the best looking Guy on #YR @YANDR_CBS. I just miss him very much, so much that my Heart aches and my chest feels like there is this huge stone sitting on it. I will just feel better when he shows up on screen again and hopefully on a regular basis.

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April 23, 2015 3:19 pm

Kristin

Whether ABC wanted out of the soap business or Pratt is a scapegoat is irrelevant. During his year or so at AMC, he still rewrote history, wrote outrageous stories that basically ignored who the characters ever were, gleefully (yes, gleefully) killed off legendary characters, wrote ridiculous doppelganger stories, and broke promise after promise to the point where even the actors couldn’t stand him. After reading this interview, it’s clear that he hasn’t changed a bit and is as arrogant and self-serving as ever. It’s true that Y&R may not close up shop on his watch, but it doesn’t mean he’s going to do the show or the audience any good, either.

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April 23, 2015 5:55 pm

fanmale

Oh, how I hate what Chuck Pratt has done to Y&R! In almost every way, he’s reduced the show to plot-driven drivel. IMO, plot-driven stories are written by people who are too lazy to find out who the characters really are. There’s no way that judgmental, holier-than-thou Abby would’ve had an affair with a married man, let alone a guy like Austin who had recently pulled a gun on Avery and held her hostage. Since Austin was already a poorly-conceived minor character anyway, why should anyone give a damn who killed him? The Jack doppelganger story is beneath the talents of Peter Bergman and Cady McClain, and I definitely won’t watch the show until that stupid story is over. Sorry, but an intelligent woman like Phyllis would immediately know that it’s not Jack.

Besides all that, Pratt sounds like he’s completely full of himself and that he only cares about what he wants, regardless of anyone else’s opinion or input. And let me get this straight: out of one side of his mouth, he says that he’s writing for the audience and then out of the other side, he says he sensed that the audience wants Sharon with Nick but then he puts her with Dylan instead? I wouldn’t trust Pratt as far as I could throw him, especially since some credit him with the destruction of AMC. Has he been employed to perform a similar act of destruction at Y&R so CBS can replace it with a show that’s cheaper to produce? It wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

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April 22, 2015 5:50 pm

jane

To: Fanmale, I care about Austin. He has turned out to be my Favorite Fella on #YR. I love watching Matthew Atkinson and have been upset ever since Mr. Chuck Pratt, Jr. did this to Matthew Atkinson ( Austin). Matthew just earned a contract about 5 to 6 months before that because he worked hard for it, then when MR. PRATT COMES in he writes a story that takes it away. To me when someone goes from recurring status to contract status you don’t mess with that. You work with it. You just don’t go killing off their character unless they have done something wrong or they are ready to go do something different Like Shamar Moore ,( Malcolm Winters). He is on a murder mystery show.
True the marriage to Summer became boring in a way, but Austin promised to love Summer for ever. No, he should not have had an affair with Abby, He should have walked out, and not kiss her on the first place. Yes, I think the writers focused to much on Summer, it should have been more equal between them. They could have given Matthew a meatier script , something like a T- Bone 3/4 inch thick steak, medium rare , anything other than what they did.
I have been reading in the CDL that is (Caleb dirty laundry) that Austin is not dead. He faked the hole thing, but still waiting it out, but when it is revealed and Matthew Atkinson doesn’t show back up as Austin like I am reading, then I am done. Because for me, there isn’t any reason for me to watch anymore. Matthew Atkinson is my Absolute Favorite Fella that has ever been on #YR. In fact he is the first and only Favorite I have ever had on a soap and I watched for years, then I stopped watching for a long time and now that I am watching again and I have an Absolute Favorite, they just want to take him away. MATTHEW ATKINSON IS THE MOST ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE HANDSOME HUNKY GUY #YR HAS EVER HAD. No other guy compares, NONE!

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April 22, 2015 10:27 pm

Harry

Calm down, Jane.
I have heard rumors that Austin is not really dead.

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April 23, 2015 10:10 am

Chris

The ineptitude of these kinds of writers baffles me. Maria Bell was the same way. They see their work as something so profound while the audience is mostly vomiting at their material. They lack introspection as artists.

Here is what I got out of it.

1)Dylan was boring but more interesting once he had a gun in his hand even though he’s not trying to create Jason 2.0. Sure. Whatever.

2)Social issues stories make him uncomfortable.

3)The Scooby Doo story setup is the back story he would have told had he been the HW last year. So instead of actually creating that story that lead up to a murder in say, November sweeps, he decided to forego the build up and tell the story beginning from the last chapter. Yes Mr. Pratt the story seems to be much better in your head than it is actually appearing on screen.

4)He seems to think the audience cares whodunit.

5)Prattastrophe rejuvinated the Y&R employees. To bad the excitement was lost on the fans.

6)Steve Burton plays Steve Burton. Yes, that’s what we’ve been saying. He can’t act. Make your leads, actors who can transform into a character.

7)Telling a story about ED has been done to death but not doppelgangers, murder mysteries and psycho women. Check.

8)He’s not mob like Bob Guza. He’s a bad protege from the school of Jim Reilly. Go have drinks with Maria Bell. She was a flunky also.

9)Sharon is more interesting crazy. SO is Kelly. Can’t have enough crazy characters. We wouldn’t want to tell stories like ED that have been done to death. Check.

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April 22, 2015 5:53 pm

Aden

Lol. I like your post Chris!!

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April 23, 2015 3:05 am

Chrystie Delancey

Excellent post, Chris!

I especially agree with #6. The reason people watch actors is because they can play different characters. I LOVE it when I watch an actor and they make me forget who I am watching. These are few and far between. Sadly, Dylan is just Jason minus the black t-shirt and Sonny.

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April 23, 2015 8:55 am

Timmm

At least as Jason he played that robomob character well. Turns out, sadly, it is not a stretch!

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April 24, 2015 7:58 am

Nikki

I have said in the past and will always say he is a genius and he saved Y & R . Before he came on as writer I would watch a quarter of the show and change over to “The Social “. Since he came on board I can’t miss a show. Of course there are stories we love, as well as stories we hate. I love the two Jack’s story and Cady McClain should win an award for her act as crazy lady.What can I say about Gina Tognoni and Peter B. they play off each other so well as does Melissa C.E and Justin H. she is such a beautiful actress. I would like to see Sharon C. get a bit of an edge and stop being a punching bag for everyone in Genoa City. I think she would be so good with Dylan. I wish Courtney & Austin had not died I loved her with Noah and we don’t get to see him with much script. I love Michael & Lauren and I hope Michael beats this cancer. The only one I really don’t care for is Summer Newman. Her voice drives me nuts and her constant whining is just too much. I also felt she got too much air time over the other actors/actresses. I love Camryn Grimes & would love to see her and Sharon make up. To Chuck Pratt Congratulations on your wonderful writing and ideas.

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April 22, 2015 5:55 pm

jeremy

You must be on some kind of Substance!!!

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April 23, 2015 7:41 am

Nikki

Hi Jeremy No I’m not on anything but taking into consideration over five million people and climbing seem to like it are you sure your not the one on something? You must like it or 1st. You wouldn’t watch it and 2nd. You wouldn’t waste your precious time reading/commenting on it. JMO

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April 23, 2015 10:23 am

Mary SF

Wow things must of have been pretty bad for you to want to watch The Social– LOL– for Americas, The Social is Canada’s version of the Talk.

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April 23, 2015 11:34 am

Nikki

Your right Mary. The Social was about as interesting as watching the grass grow but at that time so was Y & R. I love The Talk. My favorite id Sharon Osborn but it’s not on our T.V. until 5 P.M. where as Y & R is on at 2 in the afternoon and so is the Social on another channel.

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April 24, 2015 6:26 am

Timmm

Courtney was cute but her problem is she had no real connection on the show. You saw how they scrambled to connect Dylan to a major family.

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April 24, 2015 8:01 am

Nikki

You’r right Timmm she was really cute and had they left her on she could have had a better script. Married to Noah while Mark Harding had a crush on her. He could have had her working overtime to keep her away from Noah. She may have been shot at by a criminal making Noah angry enough to want her to quit her job, while Harding is trying to keep her at work for himself hoping to break them up. The stories we’re endless. Killing Austin was terrible. He could have gone for Mariah causing problems with Kevin & Mariah. Again the possibilities would be endless. Oh well guess we have to wait and see what happens.

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April 25, 2015 6:23 pm

randy

oh wow..watched todays episode where victor and victoria have there 1rst day at jabot,,so rediculous with fake jack and his bright tie,,please get this over with allready,,poor peter bergman…so sharon is more interesting in a bi polar eppy,,maybe the 1rst time,,not the 2nd,,,please allready get this over with,,,who cares who killed auston,,,because nobody cared about auston to begin with,,,,also the performances from most of the younger set have ben horrible,,what happened to the love connetion of mariah and kevin…i tuned out when genie francis was fired ,i tuned in when this chuck up writer took over to see what disasters he would create,,,never imagined he would kill a whole soap…bye bye yoing and restless you are now bored and useless….

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April 22, 2015 6:02 pm

jane

To: Randy, you are wrong, there are a lot that care about Austin. You need to look on twitter. @JMattAtkinson. He has a lot of followers and we all want him back, especially me. We all miss Matthew Atkinson (Austin).

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April 22, 2015 10:39 pm

Nikki

I love Austin and he is a wonderful actor. I was so upset when they killed him and Courtney off. Why the hell didn’t they kill that Summer off she’s a bad fit and few people would have cared with the exception of her family and close friends.

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April 23, 2015 6:58 am

Mary SF

Take heart jane– his name is still listed in the credits under the section for those who are under contract. If he was just being called in now and then to play a ghost or to see him in flashbacks, he would have been bumped to recurring and his name would be listed at the end of the credits with the other recurring players who only get listed on the week they are in a scene. This hasn’t happened which leads me to believe they are not done with Austin yet. So until you see his name off the credit list, there is still hope Austin is alive and well.

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April 23, 2015 8:36 am

Timmm

Is this Matthew’s mother?

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April 23, 2015 10:06 am

Harry

Yes, Austin has a huge fan base. The fans are larely comprised of disgruntled and disillusioned Justin Bieber fans.

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April 23, 2015 10:12 am

Elizabeth

“I tuned in when this chuck up writer took over to see what disasters he would create,,,never imagined he would kill a whole soap…” Ha! I love this line. That’s exactly what I feel is going in both at Y&R and GH. The writers make everyone crazy, or having double personalities, or somehow ridiculous; they start out stupid stories and ramble on as making it up day by day, changing when they get bored or just wake up one day with a better idea. Soaps should be about good stories, interesting characters, plot lines that support the character development and come to satisfying resolution.

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April 23, 2015 4:59 pm

marianprelosky

Pratt has totally destroyed this show. If I had any doubts that CBS/Sony was trying to kill Y&R they’re gone.

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April 22, 2015 6:25 pm

Scott (ATWT Fan)

He’s saved the show; Maria Arena is one the who attempted to ruin the show.

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April 23, 2015 6:23 am

marianprelosky

He didn’t save the show watch how bad the ratings will be with upcoming ratings..viewers are already leaving

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April 25, 2015 12:37 pm

Scott (ATWT Fan)

Y&R hasn’t been this amazing in years. You must be watching a different show Marian.

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April 26, 2015 5:19 pm

Timmm

Use your head and excuse your emotions, why would CBS kill a soap that has been #1 26 years and makes them money?

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April 24, 2015 8:03 am

marianprelosky

Why???? Because it would save CBS/Sony a ton of money to produce a game/talk show than a soap. GL and ATWT are prime examples..and YRs ratings will be just as bad. The show sucks and has only gotten worse and the ratings by the end of summer will underscore that. Use YOUR head…it’s all about the money

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April 25, 2015 12:35 pm

Carol

Oh, Michael.. I’m exhausted after reading this. Where to start.

The first thing that came to mind was a friend of ours who thinks he has the BEST taste in music, and cannot understand why EVERYBODY doesn’t have the same taste he does.

I’m going to comment on your last question first. LeBlanc has played the cancer storyline beautifully.. have also enjoyed Rikaart’s Kevin being so supportive, loving, & the voice of reason. Bregman has been perfect too. It looks to me like Michael is now trying to find a new love for Lauren after he dies from cancer, like he’s resigned to the fact he isn’t going to make it. I’m intrigued by this.

Your 2nd to last question about Adam/Gabe.. I’ve been pulling my hair out over the way they’ve been handling it! I loved the scenes in the elevator when Victor ran into nuAdam for the first time! Oh, the possibilities!! The excitement!

Then they go and make Adam an idiot. Like he has blinders on & all he can think of is getting with Chelsea (thinking with the wrong head) & little guy.. he seemed scatterbrained and without a plan. THIS IS NOT OUR ADAM!

I figured that after recovering for all those months, he would have had plenty of time to make a brilliant plan to screw the HELL out of his dad Victor, and ways to get back at Victoria and Nick for the way he thinks they treated him all those years, and of course a plan about Billy, who tried to kill him! He would do wonderful, philanthropic things for the benefit of children, veterans & old people, and be a hero in many ways before it came out he’s really Adam. People would be LOVING this new member of the Genoa City citizenry, only to find out .. what the hell??? Gabe is really Adam Newman???

That’s all I can write about for now..

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April 22, 2015 6:38 pm

Timmm

You bring up a good point about Adam. He should want revenge against Victor. He is in the best position to do so with his new look. Why not expand his story to just more them being obsess with Chelsea.

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April 23, 2015 10:09 am

Llanviewer717

I have been tuning in occasionally since the plane crash and have been very impressed. Everyone isn’t just sitting around, drinking coffee and talking about their problems. I was impressed with the sets for the plane crash and the building collapse. They actually spent some money. The show has a much faster pace. My only complaint about the plane crash is that whining bitch Lily didn’t die. And when she threw her husband out of the house, why he didn’t break into a happy dance I will never know.

Seriously, Cady McClain, Gina Tognoni and Peter Bergman are knocking it out the park every time I’ve seen them. Actually, everyone is doing terrific work. The show is alive and moving which I think is great. Keep it moving.

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April 22, 2015 6:40 pm

Aden

I may be in the minority here but I actually don’t hate Pratt’s work so far. There are things I don’t like of course. I don’t get Abby and Stitch at all…especially since he very recently slept with both her sister and mother. Gross. And doppelganger stories have completely worn out their welcome not only on this show…but in the entire soap genre. They glorify cruelty and rape both physical and mental. Hearing FlapJack brag about sex with Phyllis was misogynistic and disgusting. The murder mystery seemed inserted and forced….which was as much as admitted to by Pratt. But at least the show isn’t mind numbingly boring like it was under Griffith. Episodes offer genuine suspense. The writing is interwoven and there are real surprises. Dialogue is crisp and there is some humour tossed in when you least expect it. It’s not your grandmother’s Y and R….but it’s not so different. Think back…Bill Bell’s biggest stories were campy unrealistic potboilers. Think when Victor held Julia’s husband in a dungeon and tortured him? Or when Sheila’s epic story went on for years. Or when David Kimble was wreaking havoc and had KILLER carved into his forehead? I really don’t know why people keep saying Bill Bell’s work was so perfect and character driven. Most of Bel’s characters were very flat and one note and were in stories where plot ruled. I really don’t know what fans of this show want. Forget about the stigma and the bad reps associated with Phelps and Pratt etc. Despite retread stories and other things…the show is better than it has been in a long time. I think soap writers have proven that they care very little for what fans want. Pratt said so in his interview…and even legendary Claire Labine said the same thing in an interview. Longtime fans can long for the “good old days”…but the Bell’s have left the building. And to be quite honest….the good old days are not so different from today. The vets are front and centre….there have been no drastic cast cuts. There is camp but it’s not absurd or over the top. In this era of four soaps…the execs don’t care why people are watching as long as they are. One thing currently being overdone though…seriously…is the family thing. We have Stitch sleeping with three women in the same family…we have Hilary banging father and son. Abby was sleeping with her niece’s husband. Then we have poor Sharon being written into an affair with yet another of Nick’s brothers. Memo to soap writers…incest is not best.

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April 22, 2015 7:15 pm

Mary SF

Yes, you made some valid points, but during Bell’s reign, there was a balance between plot driven stories and character driven stories. One group of characters might be in an out of the world kind of story, but then another group would have a normal story. Also, motivation for wacky behavior was thought out, no one just acted out impulse. Even when Victor held his wife Julia’s friend Micheal in the basement, it was out of jealousy, he was trying to hang onto his wife, because of his past– there was a back story that made his choices interesting. But now Victor just does off the wall stuff because he is Victor, there is no real true motivation behind his choices, the writers now just have made him a stereotype — like Stefano on Days
And I agree I hated that they had Stitch sleep with Abby the same day he broke up with Victoria. There could have been potential for a real romance between the two if they had taken their time with it, and had some distance between his relationship with one sister to another, But having him sleep with all three women within a year, just makes him a jerk.

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April 23, 2015 8:19 am

Timmm

Finally someone with an open mind! If I had three Y&R wishes it would be that Summer, Stitch and Lilly would run off together and join Ian Ward’s cult, never to be seen again!

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April 23, 2015 10:14 am

Aden

I want to coin a name for phony Jack. FlapJack was first to my head…but I like HiJack….because this imposter hijacked his life. Thoughts?

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April 22, 2015 7:17 pm

Harry

Hi Jack is hilariously perfect!

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April 22, 2015 8:52 pm

Aden

Thanks Harry I thought so myself!! HiJack it is!!

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April 23, 2015 2:49 am

Aden

You heard it here first. HiJack.

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April 23, 2015 2:57 am

Aden

Thanks Harry my friend!!!!!!!!!

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April 23, 2015 2:58 am

Nikki

I like hijacked the best although that hit to the side of the head with the baseball bat called love by Kelly has a ring to it. lol

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April 23, 2015 6:48 am

Mary SF

I LOVE HiJack, lets go with that one.

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April 23, 2015 7:52 am

Chrystie Delancey

I like FlapJack. It reminds me of the movie, GROUNDHOG DAY.

“Too early for flapjacks?”

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April 23, 2015 8:59 am

me

So I read a story about Y&R and its new head writer, who is a known hack, and I go “why would anyone hire this guy again”. And then I go “why do they keep recycling the same writers who write the same plots from the 70s over and over again?”. When I realize there is no good reason I go “this is what happens when you hire a known hack”. Then I remember that a so-called professional writer who says “I go…” a million times is really not a professional at all.

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April 22, 2015 7:18 pm

Vicky Parr

I just wished these storylines wouldnt be dragged out so long. Also not fussy on the 2 Jacks. To me that storyline is very stupid and probably will get dragged out too. Sorry but that is my opinion. But I love Justin Hartley and he is definely the best you got after MM

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April 22, 2015 7:40 pm

Joan Jipson Burgess

I really Live for the day of Chelsea and Adam’s reunion. we already waited more then a year to recast Adam, and now its been 6months and still no closer to Adam confiding in Chelsea. The longer he waits, the more she will be upset.Fans are not going to like that. we want Chelsea and Adam as the next powerful Newman couple, And he can’t even reveal himself Til Chuck reveals that someone else, hopefully Kelly drove up and hit Delia after Adam left. Please make this happen SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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April 22, 2015 7:45 pm

GW

I totally agree. I love Chelsea (MCE) and Adam (JH) together. After waiting for so long for Chadam to be reunited I thought for sure the first thing that would happen was that that the real killer of Delia would be found out. I never believed Adam was responsible for Delia’s death. When they hired JH I was very familiar with his work and knew he would be able to play Adam and do the character justice. I say this as a huge MM fan who was sad that he was let go. Unfortunately I think we will be waiting even longer for our Chadam reunion and what is about to happen imo will be a slap in the face to Chadam fans. Adam was returned to us as Gabe Bingham who was created by Sage. She masterminded everything because she wanted Constance’s money. I can understand why Adam would agree since he had no access to his money, but this has gone on far too long. I don’t even like the direction this story has taken. All at once we are suppose to believe that Sage has realized the money is no longer important to her and that she has decided love for Nick is more important. She turned on Adam and has told lies to Nick making Gabe out to be the bad guy. Adam was in no position to even know who this Gabe guy was without her acting like a drill sergeant with him to make sure he could pass himself off as him. Adam didn’t arrange for the surgeries to have Gabe’s face. He was barely clinging to life. Sage even kept him drugged because the only thing on his mind was to get to see Chelsea and his son Connor. The character of Sage imo was not a very popular one. I find her boring, but for whatever reason this team of writers wants her to be liked. Instead of writing Adam as we know him to be instead they have dumbed his character down and have let Sage pull the strings. The real Adam would not have kept the truth from Chelsea especially after he was finally able to make love to her. That scene between them was unbelievable. It was extremely hot, hot, hot and I have watched it over and over. When Chelsea agreed to marry Billy and came back to tell Adam/Gabe you could see how hurt he was, but then you saw the look on his face that looked exactly like the Adam we know and that look said no way would he just give in and let that happen. It would have been the perfect time for Adam to tell Chelsea the truth. He doesn’t need Constance’s money he has his own by telling the truth. He and Chelsea could decide how to handle things. Even if the truth comes out that he is Adam and he is charged with hitting Delia the most he is guilty of… Read more »

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April 23, 2015 7:45 am

Mary SF

Yes I too find this change of direction about Sage confusing. I realized this is partly due to the change in writers, but as a new writer comes in they should try to find a seamless ways to change direction instead of dropping stuff altogether. It was Sage who went through all this effort to keep Gabe alive in order to get the money, then she just changes her mind and makes it seem Adam is the bad guy– wth???
Nick must be awfully good in the sack to get a schemer like Sage to suddenly reform. It would have made far more sense if Adam had been responsible for creating a new identity and Sage was one of his hires to help him– it seem that was what was going on, when in the beginning we got glimpses of Hands Newman seemly giving orders to someone.
As for the Delia part, I too think eventually they will redeem Adam and name someone else as the real driver. But if not, they should at least have Adam frame someone else for the fall, which would be in keeping with Adam’s character — or else leave it alone, and just make the accident something that will haunt this character all his life, molding him into a complex character — and sent up a new Abbott- Newman feud between Adam and Billy–

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April 23, 2015 9:52 am

JUDY

IS THIS SHOW REALLY THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS???? TIME TO TURN OFF THE RECORDER AND NOT WASTE TIME ON THIS MESS!!!!

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April 22, 2015 8:24 pm

jaybird369

Chuck Pratt…are you serious?!?!? Well, now…let me see…

1. Chuck calls Hunter King ‘amazing’. Oh, really?!?!? ON WHAT PLANET?!?!? Not buying that AT ALL!!!!! Nope.
2. NuKyle (annoying played by that Lachlan Buchanan kid) STILL AIN’T cutting it for me. PAGING Blake Hood a la THE R-E-A-L KYLE…DEFIANT L-O-L!!!!!
3. To me, Victoria is nothing but AN OLDER VERSION of THAT STUPID AND SNIVELING Summer…gimme a break already!!!!!
4. I wish that Y&R would reveal Austin and Courtney’s killer already!!!!! Enough is enough.
5. And, finally…DON’T EVEN REMOTELY get me re-started (or whatever) on the other following characters: Ashley, Avery, Christine, Colin, Devon, Dylan, Hilary, Nick, Nikki and Victor…BEYOND BLECH!!!!!

All in all…dumb…truly dumb.

Peace…or whatever.

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April 22, 2015 8:41 pm

Nikki

Jaybird369 NOOOOOOOOOO I was depending on you. I agree with some of what you said but not all.I was disappointed when they killed off Austin & Courtney ( if their really dead) I loved Courtney & Noah & I think that Mark Harding (the cop) would have been chasing her & stirring up trouble for her & Noah. Victoria the spoiled little daddy’s girl has turned into a female Victor. I thought Austin would have gone after Mariah which would have been a triangle with Kevin who would have won her heart until Chloe came back to town with Billy’s baby and pretended it was Kevin’s. I love Blake Hood as Kyle but I think this guy may work out as long as he’s with the family and away from the Amazon. I agree I can’t stand the actress who plays Summer and they shove her down our throats. I don’t think she suits that role at all but she’s here to stay & with the summer holidays & school out they will put on more kiddy cray. JMO

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April 23, 2015 6:43 am

GW

jaybird369 I totally agree – well said.

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April 23, 2015 7:49 am

Harry

I do not understand why the writers and producers think Hunter King is all that.
I have yet to hear one fan express anything remotely positive about her,
Summer is a Bummer.

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April 23, 2015 10:16 am

Faye

Nor do I. Id much rather have Camryn Grimes (Mariah) get more screentime. I guess CG’s Mariah is not one of Prarr’s faves.

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April 25, 2015 10:13 am

Timmm

Blake Hood, yes! It wasnt broke, why the hell did they try and fix it?

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April 23, 2015 10:17 am

Teresa

Please do not drag the Jack storyline on for long!! Really don’t like that one at all and will be glad when it is over. I mean two Jack’s? Really?? Let’s soon find out who killed Delia because I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Adam and I would like to soon have his true identity revealed. I hope Michael survives his cancer. Get rid of Kelly. Put Billy and Victoria back together. And let’s soon find out what happened to Austin and who killed Courtney. Oh yeah…. and please please let someone get the best of Victor for once!! I hope his plan backfires in his nasty face!!

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April 22, 2015 8:51 pm

GW

Teresa I agree. Why does it always have to be the Abbott family who suffers? It’s time for Victor to finally get his. I am so tired of him and his “I did it for my family” quote. He is alive because he has Coleen’s heart – an Abbot heart.

I of course agree about Adam and want to find out who really killed Delia. Why drop a great s/l like that? Unfortunately according to spoilers we are going to get something totally unexpected with Adam and as a Chadam fan I hate it.

If this Jack storyline goes on for a long time as indicated in the article I will have to tune out for awhile and I have been watching for years.

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April 23, 2015 8:01 am

Steven

Good luck Y&R fans, you’re going to need it, because Chuck Pratt, Jr. is a plot-driven writer/producer! – You may think it’s bad now, but haven’t seen nothing yet?!

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April 22, 2015 8:59 pm

Lew S

YEAH!!!!!!

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April 23, 2015 4:00 pm

Darlene

Terrible writing and story lines. Making Sharon crazy? It sure is NOT bipolar disorder. Mr. Pratt has not done his homework and there is nothing realistic about how Sharon is acting if she id supposed to have bipolar disorder. Chuck Pratt has ruined Sharon’s character. Pratt has reduced Nick Newman to a bed hopping idiot, actually most of the characters have become bed hoppers, no morals, no character, no glamour. Just acting like animals in heat.

The Adam/Chelsea story line is ruined. Gabriel/Adam acts like an idiot. Bad pairing of Chelsea and Billy. NuBilly is dull, boring and looks as old as Jack.

Stop making Nikli and Neil drunks. Just too much repetition. Victor and Jack becoming partners is ridiculous. Jill/Colin have all but disappeared. Michael Baldwin cancer story line has totally deteriorated. Michael is trying to pawn Lauren off to Cane.

Chuck Pratt needs to be fired! Also Jill Farren Phelps for letting this soap to deteriorate so quickly. Gone is Bill Bell’s romance and glamour. Who needs prime time during the day? No one. Children are home during the day. Viewers had been enjoying escape into the world of glamour, elegance, romance…and just plsin good stories. That is all gone! So sad!!!!

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April 22, 2015 9:11 pm

Timmm

NuBilly reminds me of John Denver!

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April 23, 2015 10:18 am

The Substitute

Rocky Mountain high Colorado!

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April 23, 2015 7:26 pm

su0000

LOL
All you bitch whine and moaners..
Not one of you will stop watching, you will watch everyday without fail..
And then you will go to boards and write 30 paragraphs why you don’t like it..
The numbers will stay up because you keep watching therefore all will be well for Pratt because the numbers remain good/high..
You all are helping Pratt stand tall..

I like Y&R, I deplore Sharon..
Sharon is not Y&R, she is simply an irritation that is much like a bad ass rash one can’t get of rid of..
Nonetheless, I like Pratt and Y&R is doing much better..

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April 22, 2015 9:28 pm

davlestev1

You like stirring the cowpie pot..I will make my comments on this article below su0000..because..I KNOW YOU KNOW…if you TRULY read his remarks.

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April 23, 2015 2:43 am

Nikki

OUCH!!!!I love Sharon but I would like to see her working and having her girlfriend Chelsea by her side, I want to see her with Dylan and getting over that damn Nick. She is such a great actress but she’s being used as a punching bag for Genoa City which is mean. I also think they do a great injustice with her illness. Many people I know have some disorder and they have job’s and family’s and are just fine. Look at Maurice Bernard( Sonny Corintos) of General Hospital. In real life he has Bi-polar and he works, has a family and a lot of friends. I don’t think C.Pratt understands this disorder because he is not playing it out right at all.

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April 23, 2015 6:22 am

Karlie

One doesn’t need to “watch” to express an opinion on how bad the show has become under “Prattastrophe” (perfect monikier for that egomaniac). The numbers will tell the tale all in due time…they always do. Just ask Latham, Bell and Griffin.

Many love Sharon and it’s why there is so much talk online to stop using her character as a doormat. If enough people didn’t care about the character – which even Prattastrophe acknowledges – she wouldn’t be a blip on anyone’s radar. But she is and her fans will and should continue to express their outrage at how she is wilfully written OOC while belittling the illness of BPD in the process.

If Prattastrophe wants to write his own show, then he should go and create his own show and exit the Y&R stage.

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April 23, 2015 8:15 am

Lew S

Tell ’em Karlie!

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April 23, 2015 4:03 pm

The Substitute

@su they do have Doctors for your problem with the character of Sharon it is now become childish and over the top! Are you by chance working for EB/Victor?

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April 23, 2015 7:29 pm

Chrystie Delancey

Except for the majority of us, we are not Nielsen families, so our viewership does not matter unless you are counting DVR.

Ratings are not going up because Pratt and Phelps are putting some dazzling content on our screens. It is because people are curious. When the novelty of it wears off, the ratings will go down again. Mark my words.

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April 23, 2015 7:28 pm

ELILZABETH

Not really a Pratt fan. I believe his type of storytelling, non stop fantastic plots can’t relate to a 2015 audience long term. I miss the quiet moments, the simple friendships and conversations that make soaps such a great medium. I wish Y&R had given some of their younger scribes a chance instead of investing yet again in a guy whose been around since the stone age. Why is it so hard for networks to realize that viewing habits change. We all like to stroll down memory lane but time changes people and silly 80’s back from the dead and doppelganger plots are what killed the medium in the first place.That said, he is right Sharon and Dylan work, but Jack Doppelganger is just idiocy. Worse, Victor is being turned into a one dimensional bad note guy without any depth. He hasn’t visited his grandsons once. Its justs not what we expect from a man whose legacy is his children..

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April 22, 2015 9:46 pm

Laurie

I don’t even have to post cause you guys say it all! Good post.

Stone Age
doppelgangers
1980’s

Amen

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May 4, 2015 4:31 am

Carol

Also…… continued from earlier…. I hate the sudden murder mystery. Hate it, and don’t care. Hate the out-of-character behavior of Abby having an affair with Austin.. what the hell? Her niece’s husband, for crying out loud!

Austin was a good guy who was great with Mariah as she was trying to integrate into life in Genoa City.. he was gentle with her, and stood up for her when necessary, so I also hate the sudden 360 of him turning into a mean, nasty, ungrateful a$$hole by doing his tell-all videos.. can’t stand it when for no apparent reason, something is inserted into a story out of the blue that really makes no sense.

As for the Stitch storylines… they’re making him stupid. Such potential is being wasted.

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April 22, 2015 9:54 pm

jane

I agree with you Carol, even though bad boys in a way are HOT, I still prefer the softer sweet caring side of Austin. The one who stood up for some one when their being kicked around verbally by someone else. Summer and Mariah seem to do that very well with each other, kick each other when they are down.
At the same time, Matthew Atkinson likes to play the opposite of who he is in real life sometimes because for him it is fun. He wants people to react to what he is doing on screen, for him if you are happy or mad at his character then he is doing something right. He doesn’t want Austin to be a so, so Character. Like I said before, if you are happy or ticked off then he is golden. The last thing he wants to do is put you to sleep because his alter ego is boring as hell.

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April 23, 2015 2:03 pm

Timmm

Jane, I said this about Courtney and I will say this about Austin, I liked them both but neither of them were connected to Genoa City. They flirted with Courtney coming from a well to do family but decided not to pursue that. Austin had no family and thats always a sign if your an actor not to get too comfortable. They needed victims and these two, sadly were disposable characters in the writers eyes. Think about it, the killings have stopped, have they trimmed enough fat? I thought Joe was next but they seem to be pairing up him and Avery.

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April 24, 2015 8:10 am

Eleanor

I don’t like the dopplebanger s/l at all. I love PB he is a great actor but this is just too way out there. I am also very tired of Jack losing and Victor winning all the time. I would love to see Victor pay big time for everything he has done and Jack win for once.

As for the Scooby doo s/l I am so tired of seeing Summer and her purse holder Kyle on my screen it just isn’t funny. We don’t see enough of Mariah and Kevin and way too much of Summer and Kyle. They are even more boring than Nick and Sage.

I love the Dylan and Sharon friendship and hope to see it grow these are two great actors. They play very well off each other.

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April 22, 2015 9:55 pm

Nikki

I agree Sharon and Dylan should be together. Sharon need to get her own place off that Newman property and get over Nick the p—k once & for all. Let us see Mariah and Kevin more often and a lot less air time with Summer who does not even suit the role.

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April 23, 2015 6:12 am

GW

Eleanor – Summer and her purse holder Kyle – perfect description and thanks for the laugh. I also agree about Mariah and Kevin and they haven’t been on for a long time. I enjoy Mariah and her comebacks to Summer. Summer totally deserves them.

I said the same thing about wanting to see Victor pay instead of winning all the time. Now that would be different. I also agree about boring Nick and especially Sage. To me she was not needed on this soap but I understand she isn’t going anyplace and they are pulling out all the stops to get people to like her. There may be some, but imo the majority find her a snooze.

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April 23, 2015 8:12 am

Timmm

Victor is life. Some guys never lose. Look at Donald Trump. Like him or not, he is always at the top of his game, winning!

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April 24, 2015 8:11 am

Eileen Hargis

Id like for Chuck to put Ben back in the hospital with all his dr. Priviledges and out of that lab at Jabot. Settle him with one woman, and unmask Gabriel.

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April 22, 2015 10:15 pm

Timmm

I hate Stitch and hope that he is next on the list to be killed!

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April 24, 2015 8:12 am

Eileen Hargis

U have ur opinion, Im just glad ur in the minority. Stitch is a very popular character!

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April 25, 2015 10:33 am

Meg

I love Sharon Newman ,she’s who kept me watching after MM left ,she deserves a better s/l than shes had for years ,I use to love her with NICK ,AND ADAM .MM’S ADAM , I NOW JUST WANT HER TO BE FRIENDS WITH JH ‘S ADAM,I REALLY LIKE HER WITH DYLAN,, ..I NEVER LIKED JASON ,DIDN’T LIKE DYLAN WITH CHELSEA.SHE BELONGS WITH ADAM HATE HER WITH BILLY .ANY OF THE BILLY’S,,AVERY BELONGS WITH JOE ,I FINALLY LIKE DYLAN ,B/C I LOVE HIM WITH SHARON.WE NEED TO KNOW WHO REALLY HIT DEE REVEALED .AND VICTOR TO FINALLY GET HIS COMUPPENCE.THAT WOULD MAKE THE DOPPLEGANGER S/L WORTH IT IF HE FINALLY DOES, ,EVEN KNOW PETER IS GREAT AND SO IS CADY,

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April 22, 2015 11:36 pm

Meg

EVEN THOUGH PETER IS GREAT IN THIS S/L .THAT SHOULD HAVE RAD,

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April 22, 2015 11:39 pm

Patty

I been watching the young and restless for 30+years, just wondering are you going to do away with Victor Newman role, I hope not.

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April 23, 2015 6:58 am

MEG

JUST WANT VICTOR TO SUFFER FOR ONCE ,

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April 23, 2015 3:05 pm

GW

Meg if they would finally let Victor get his and they would keep this s/l short and sweet I agree. Totally agree the real person who hit Delia needs to be revealed because I don’t believe it was Adam for one minute. I like Dylan with Sharon as well. I want Chadam and Villy back. I don’t like what they have done with Victoria the last few episodes. She is too much like her dear old Dad and I don’t care for that.

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April 23, 2015 8:19 am

Sally

Silly dopplegangers, people with new faces, a murder mystery that is beyond dumb: Wow, Pratt should be so proud….NOT. This show is awful. BTW, why the hell is Adam Newman a moron now? When Michael Muhney played the role, he was a multi-dimensional character with great inner conflict and was smart as hell. Now that stud muffin Justin Hartley is in the role, he’s become a pecker head pining away over a woman who dropped him like a hot potato and is marrying the guy who left him for dead. His decision making is ridiculous, but now that he’s running around nekkid, I guess we’re not supposed to notice the character is as dumb as his half-brother Dickolas Newman.

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April 23, 2015 12:40 am

ELILZABETH

I always thought that the relationship between Adam and Victor was far more interesting than Adam and Chelsea. When ultimately Genoa City learn Adam Newman is alive what will he do? All of the complexity, the shades of gray, the smarts have been written out of him. I guess he will be a male nurse., fireman whatever!!! The old Adam would never be far from Newman Enterprises. He lived and breathed it. He considered it his birthright. Even when he was happy with Chelsea he always wanted to be a part of Newman. Nu Adam doesn’t even believe Newman doesn’t exist.

As I mentioned earlier taste change. The Doppelganger story doesn’t work for me. Phyllis is sleeping with someone who she does not even know and would not under reasonable circumstances given her consent. Its degrading and humiliating to women to write these kinds of stories without addressing the ramifications of this. See what I mean about changing social values. Like Luke and Laura’s rape we overlooked it. In the year 2015 what is happening with Phyllis isn’t entertainment. Its a crime.

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April 23, 2015 2:49 pm

Laurie

Sally,
Can’t type your post is so funny. I don’t know if you intended that. But it’s so spot-on. I can’t stop crying. WHAT ARE THESE CRAZY DECISION MAKING SKILLS? Nothing “Gabe” does makes sense!! He’s ass-backwards! I guess brain cells not required for recast. Ok, it’s Pratt’s writing, not Justin Hartley!!
Clearly, “plan” for Mr. Pratt means something different to him than to you and I, the fans. He doesn’t mind whipping up an insta-wedding in the park with 1 day notice. He’s done it twice in the last few wks. And, oh, the men decided when, what , why, how, where they get married (Jack, Noah) and I think Billy planned his and Chelsea’s. Because he moonlights as a wedding planner. Ok. When would Chelsea, a girly girl w/great style sense ever allow Billy to plan her wedding? Seems he pulled her dress off a Walmart clearance rack. She’s a fashion designer!!!! No way she’d NOT plan her wedding!
Phyllis is getting raped nightly, and no doubt daily, too with this horny doppelganger! But Vic sits back and bellows at his genius plan, which somehow is even stupider than his son Ad.. I mean Gabes!!! Run in the family? What have they done to Victor?? Clown.
At least he’s finally moved Plywood, I mean Billy up to a front-burner sl. Um…Crickets. Who makes these decisions? Oh previews tell me cheater, Adam killer, liar Billy is gonna drag Chelsea all over GC for cheating, even though they’re through and he’s “free.” Even though he stuck his tongue down Victoria’s throat 1st. Even though he ran straight to Victoria. He’s stuck on revenge. That’s all this writer is about !!! Zzzzzzzz

Judith Light Receives Her Star On The Hollywood Walk of Fame

September 14, 2019

This week on Thursday, Judith Light was honored with the 2,673rd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a ceremony attended by many of her beloved friends, longtime business associates who were instrumental in her career, and former or current castmates, and of course, her husband, Robert Desiderio (Ex-Steve Piermont, OLTL).

The two-time Daytime Emmy winner for her powerhouse performance as Karen Wolek on One Life to Live, and a two-time Tony Award winner for her work in Other Desert Cities and The Assembled Parties was given her star on the legendary walk on Hollywood Blvd for her incredibly successful and enduring career in television, movies and the theatre.

Photo: HutchinsPhoto.com

Speaking to the crowd in honor of Judith’s big day was her Ugly Betty co-star, America Ferrera as well as Transparent creator, Jill Soloway. Broadway producer Daryl Roth, Light’s Transparent co-stars: Amy Landecker, Kathryn Hahn, Jay Duplass and Gaby Hoffman, David Steinberg, and former Ugly Betty co-star Ana Ortiz, were all on-hand. In addition, Judith’s longtime friend and former on-screen One Life to Live sister, Brynn Thayer (Ex-Jenny Wolek) attended to celebrate this moment with Judith.

In her speech, Light thanked everyone along the way at all the shows and stages she has appeared on and more including: One Life to Live,Who’s the Boss? ABC and of course, her current series Transparent, as well as producer Ryan Murphy with whom she first worked with as Marilyn Miglin in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, a role which earned Judith a Primetime Emmy nomination. Light will next be seen in Murphy’s Netflix series, The Politician with Bette Midler and Ben Platt.

Photo: HutchinsPhoto.com

Judith expressed to all that helped her have a successful career: “The fact is, if you were not in my life, the dream of this little girl sitting alone in her room in Trenton, N.J., reading plays and acting out Shakespeare passages, would never have come to pass. All of you have made and are continuing to make the powerful difference in my life and the lives of so many others So, I say to all of you with deep and profound gratitude, thank you. You remind me of who we all really and truly are. We are each other’s star.”

The newest talk shows in the daytime arena premiered on Monday and their initial ratings were quite strong. First up was the premiere of Grammy-winner, Kelly Clarkson and her new series The Kelly Clarkson Show.

According to Variety: the NBCUniversal new daytime series scored a 1.9 household metered market rating and a 6 share in the 56 metered markets. That is the highest debut for a new syndicated show since 2012.

Elsewhere, Disney’s Tamron Hall posted a 1.4 household rating and a 5 share, and with that Tamron scored the highest other debut other than Clarkson in the past five years.

Nashville was the most successful and predicted market for Clarkson, the show scored a 5.97 household rating on its premiere day which climbed 7% to a 6.41 on Tuesday.

Hall will be promoting her show with a cameo appearance on this Friday’s episode of General Hospital where she appears in scenes with Ingo Rademacher (Jax).

In a tweet Tamron also promised that on Friday’s episode of her talker she will talk about her “longgggggg #GH love and history.”

So, have you checked out the new Kelly Clarkson or Tamron Hall Shows? What do you think of them? Comment below.

DARK SHADOWS Sequel In Development By CW

What would a re-imagined Dark Shadows look now in 2020? Well, the CW and Warner Bros Television have made a deal to develop the once uber popular ABC cult classic soap opera that aired from 1966-1971.

Now in development, the new Dark Shadows would be an hourlong. According to Deadline, the pilot will be written by Mark B. Perry (Revenge,Ghost Whisperer and Brothers & Sisters.), so he definitely knows how to write a solid twist and turn soap.

The new Dark Shadows will be a modern-day continuation of the strange, terrifying, and sexy saga of the Collins family of Collinsport, Maine — a mysterious, influential, publicity-shy group hiding a ghastly secret: For the past 400 years, they’ve lived under a curse that bedevils their blue blood with every imaginable supernatural creature and horror.

The most notable and identifiable character of them all, was of course, Barnabas Collins played by Jonathan Frid.

In a statement, Mark Perry said of bringing back Dark Shadows: “As a first-generation fan, it’s been a dream of mine to give Dark Shadows the Star Trek treatment since way back in the ’80s when Next Generation was announced, so I’m beyond thrilled and humbled to be entrusted with this resurrection.” He went on to say: “My plan is to take as few liberties as possible with the Dark Shadows canon, while bearing in mind a quote from a 1970s episode delivered by the inimitable Oscar-nominee Grayson Hall as Dr. Julia Hoffman: ‘The Collins family history is not particularly famous for its accuracy.’”